The presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), Peter Obi, has promised to turn Sambisa forest, the base of terrorists in Borno State, into farmland if elected as president in the forthcoming general election.

Obi said his administration, if elected, would provide a lasting solution to the insecurity bedevilling Nigeria, especially the North-East region of the country.

The LP presidential flag-bearer made the vow at the party’s presidential campaign rally in Maiduguri, the Borno State capital on Saturday.

The former governor of Anambra State stressed that previous leadership failed to tackle insecurity in the state because they failed to address it from the root, adding that himself and his running mate, Datti Baba-Ahmed, will squarely tackle it from the source.

Obi said any solution to insecurity that is not tackling youth unemployment and the injustice in the system will not make any success.

He, however, noted that his administration will restore the business glory of Maiduguri and take people back to their houses and farms.

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Obi said: “Sambisa forest that the terrorists have used as a base from where they torment this state will be turned into a farmland to produce.

“Through our consumption to production policy, we will engage the youths, pull people out of poverty, and return the state to its original position as the commercial hub of the region.”

The LP presidential standard bearer stated that the future of the youths has been intertwined with that of the country, stressing that the 2023 general election is about Nigerian youths and their desires to take back their country.

Obi said the forthcoming general election is an essential one “because it’s going to change the dynamics of our political life as it is going to be based on competence, character, antecedents of prospective leaders, and their capabilities both in physical and mental state.”

“This election is not going to be as in the past when they come with tribal and ethnic sentiments to deceive us, it’s not even anybody’s turn but that of you Nigerian youths to take back your country,” he added.

The former governor stated that his administration, if elected, would work with the private sector and make education an investment and not a social responsibility.

On his part, Baba-Ahmed assured the people of Borno State that he and Obi will turn the land in the North into wealth.

Also speaking at the rally, the LP National Chairman, Julis Abure, assured the people of Borno State that only Labour Party-led administration under Obi and Datti will promote the potentials of the North and tackle insecurity.

The Star