2027: Insecurity Affects All Of Us, No Tribe Buys Things Cheaper – Obi

The presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Peter Obi, has urged Nigerians to reject ethnic and religious divisions ahead of the 2027 election.

This was just as he asserted that insecurity, poverty and economic hardship affect citizens across the country regardless of their backgrounds.

Obi made the call during a Vote4Obi Zoom meeting on Sunday evening, stressing that Nigerians should focus on electing a president capable of uniting the country and confronting its security challenges.

According to the former Anambra State governor, the economic hardship confronting Nigerians does not distinguish between tribes or religions.

“Today we are not united. We are divided among ethnic and religious lines. And to the best of my knowledge, no tribe buys bread cheaper,” Obi said.

“No tribe buys food cheaper. No religion buys bread cheaper. No religion buys food cheaper.

“The poverty that is in our country today spreads across the whole nation. No tribe is more secure than the other. Insecurity is all over the country.”

Obi argued that the common challenges facing Nigerians should compel citizens to prioritise competent leadership rather than allow ethnic and religious considerations to determine their political choices.

“So we need a president that will unite us. We need a president that will work tirelessly to secure this country,” he said.

The NDC candidate also expressed concern over the abduction of Nigerian graduates travelling to participate in the National Youth Service Corps programme, questioning why security agencies had been unable to locate and rescue kidnapping victims despite the availability of modern technology.

“Just look at the latest news a few days ago. We had 22 graduates of this country who are just going to serve the nation in our youth service who were kidnapped. And we are still campaigning for the next election. It shouldn’t be,” he said.

Obi questioned how criminal groups operating in Nigeria could remain beyond the reach of security agencies.

“Where were they kidnapped? Which bush did they take them to? Is it not in Nigeria?” he asked.

“Those who are funding and demanding for 1 billion, are they funding from outside Nigeria? No.”

He called for the use of technology and intelligence capabilities to identify criminal groups and locate their hideouts.

“In today’s technological know-how, with available technology, with everything, we should be able to find where people who are doing bad things are,” Obi said.

He also called for better logistics, equipment and welfare for security personnel, including adequate support for their families when officers are killed or incapacitated.

“We must make sure we provide them with the logistics for them to work. We must make sure we are with them,” he said.

“We must make sure they are properly taken care of and that the families are taken care of if they are not available, if anything happens to them.”

Obi further said Nigeria needed a president who would remain available and lead efforts to tackle the country’s challenges.

“We want a president that will lead from the front. We want a president that will be available,” he said.

He pledged that, if elected, he would prioritise staying in Nigeria and would only travel abroad for critical meetings capable of benefiting the country.

“For four years of being in office, everything I’m doing, holidays, everything must be in Nigeria,” Obi said.

“You travel out only for critical meetings that will attract to our country.”

On the 2027 election, Obi urged supporters to remain at their polling units after voting until the ballots were counted.

“When you go to your polling unit, you vote. Stay there until the vote is counted,” he said.

Also speaking during the meeting, activist and Obi supporter Aisha Yesufu disclosed that efforts were underway to build a stronger polling-unit agent and vote-protection structure ahead of the election.

Yesufu said the initiative involved working with technology platforms, political groups, movements, candidates and aspirants to recruit and organise polling-unit agents.

She said platforms including Smart Ballot and Obedient Connect were being used as part of efforts to develop a database of supporters and potential agents, while the structure would also involve the Nigeria Democratic Congress and various support movements.

According to Yesufu, the focus was not merely on recruiting people to appear at polling units on election day, but on identifying committed supporters who were invested in their communities and willing to mobilise voters.

She said additional “polling unit protectors” would also be deployed to support agents and ensure that polling units without designated agents could still be monitored.

Yesufu said technology and data would be central to the 2027 electoral strategy, adding that the proposed database would enable Obi to communicate directly with supporters across states, local governments, wards and polling units.

She stressed that the various movements and platforms would have to combine their strengths rather than operate independently.

Yesufu added that Obi and his running mate, Rabiu Kwankwaso, were closely involved in efforts to strengthen polling-unit operations and protect votes.

“They are following it closely, and they are invested in vote protection, that every vote that is given to them must be protected,” she said.