Obi tells US diaspora he will stand down after one term if he cannot resolve power crisis

FORMER Anambra State governor and Labour Party presidential candidate Peter Obi has promised to stand down after four years if he cannot find a solution to Nigeria's chronic electricity crisis if he wins next February's elections.

Governor Obi is one of the leading candidates in next year's presidential elections and as part of his campaign, he has embarked on a global tour. yesterday, while addressing a packed audience at the prestigious Beverly Hilton in Los Angeles, Governor Obi listed countries that had doubled their power supply in a few years to include Egypt.

He recently went to Egypt to look at their power projects. Governor Obi lamented the fact that even the president of South Africa, which produces 50,000 megawatts of electricity, had just declared a state of emergency in the sector for being too little but Nigeria, which produces a paltry 4,000 megawatts for over 200m people, has not.

Governor Obi said: “I will increase power generation in four years. This is not a guarantee but I am saying if I don’t do it, I will leave the office.”

He bemoaned the fact that no one was held to account in Nigeria, pointing out that when politicians enter office, they renege on what they had promised, claiming they didn’t know what it entailed. Governor Obi added that in Nigeria, people do not do what is expected, they do what is inspected.

He challenged the enthusiastic Nigerians in America to hold him accountable when he comes to power to deliver on what he promised. Governor Obi said no one was asking for perfection but at least leaders should show direction and efforts.

Narrating an interaction he had with a member of a rival party on the flight to Toronto the previous day, Governor Obi asked him if he knew the pilot. When the man said, no, he asked but you trust him that he is taking you to Toronto as he announced.

According to Governor Obi, the problem with governance in Nigeria was that after promising a flight to Toronto, the pilots of the state would enter the cockpit and begin to make excuses that they did not know the airplane needed fuel and that the destination was Lagos. He stated that he discovered that one of the companies responsible for Egypt’s power transformation is present in Nigeria so he decided to investigate why they have not replicated similar success.