Presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP) in the 2023 General elections, Peter Obi, on Sunday, commissioned a hand pump water supply scheme in Sabon Layi community, a suburb of Bauchi metropolis in Bauchi LGA.
The Peter Obi Support Group undertook the project in Bauchi state to alleviate the community’s water supply suffering despite its closeness to the state capital.
The former Presidential candidate also announced that 100 members of the community would be supported with an undisclosed amount of money to enable them to celebrate the upcoming Sallah.
While speaking shortly before the commissioning, Peter Obi commended the people for living peacefully amongst themselves irrespective of their ethno-religious differences.
He said that what Nigeria needs at this time is peaceful coexistence, stressing that it is only by doing so that development can come to the people anywhere they are.
According to him, “This project means a lot to me. What we have been doing is, in this Ramadan fasting period, I am going around the various communities around Nigeria, going to the people to understand and learn about their livelihoods, how they are living, especially in this economically difficult situation, and seeing if there is any little thing, any small thing I can do to help by providing it in order to make their lives better.”
He added, “I am also requesting them to continue to pray for Nigeria. So, that is why we are in this community of Sabon Layi in Bauchi state today, where you can see that there is a great need for a little borehole like this one, a water facility that will make their lives better. We have provided that for them.”
The former Governor of Anambra state added, “We are also going to support 100 of them with a token just to help them within this Sallah period. We are requesting them that in these last few days of Ramadan, which is the time Allah hears prayers, let them pray for Nigeria because we have no other country but Nigeria.”
He stressed, “Unless those of us who, by His grace, are now leaders come together, love each other, and work for the country because the poor people here are suffering, and we must do something about it. So, this means a lot to me.”
He further stressed, “I am going to the communities and addressing them myself, talking to them myself, listening to them so that we can know how to solve the problems.”
Reacting to the increase in electricity tariff, he said, “It is very simple. You do the hike for those in the areas where those of us who can easily afford it are living; that can go on. Then use the resources to subsidize for those who cannot afford it.”
According to him, “Because we need to do a lot of improvement in the power sector. It is taking too long to do that, where we need to generate and distribute more power, but we have to put into consideration that the majority of Nigerians are suffering, so, we need to support those areas to be able to live and produce something because when they start to produce something, eventually we will be able to pull them out of poverty.”
“That is where my theory of moving forward from consumption to production comes in, but electricity is a critical part of production. We cannot tax people for nothing. We need to support the growth of small businesses by ensuring that this tariff is not spread across the same level for the big and for the small,” he added.
A representative of the community thanked Peter Obi and his support team for finding the community worthy of the water project, saying that the people are really suffering from a lack of a source of portable water many years after it was established.
He said that with the hand pump now, the suffering will reduce, saying, however, that the community needs more than one borehole considering the way it is expanding as people are relocating there because of the serene and peaceful atmosphere.
The Community leader assured that the residents will continue to pray for Peter Obi and his aspirations as well as the peace of Nigeria and Bauchi State in particular.
