Peter Obi, presidential candidate of Labour Party (LP), says
the Apapa area of Lagos, where a major port is located, is currently a “mess”.
He said this when he featured on #WithChude, the podcast
hosted by Chude Jideonwo, the media personality.
In June, Gbemisola Saraki, minister of state for
transportation, had said it is important to mordenise the Apapa and Tin Can
Island ports as the current state of the ports infrastructure shows years of
neglect.
Recently, there have been varied reactions over a viral
video in which Obi read a message claiming that some of his supporters in the
south-west have been asked not to vote for him because of a claim that he would
close the ports in Lagos.
Reacting to the development in a clip which was shared on
Tuesday, Obi said if elected, he will not close ports in Lagos, but would open
up ports in new areas to decongest Apapa.
“Quite frankly, so many people blew it out of context. I was
just trying to explain to people the kind of messages people send. Why will
people be sending a message that if I become president, nobody will invest in
Lagos again, I will close the ports of Lagos and everything?” Obi said.
“Everybody knows that Lagos today, as it is, the ports are
congested so we have need to develop new ports, new areas. We need to expand
the business. Lagos is still our financial centre.
“People have
abandoned their properties in Apapa because it became a mess. Apapa used to be
a reference place of living. People have abandoned it. So, you need to open up
all those things and opening them up is trying to decongest the port by having
to open up new ports and everything.”
Obi also referred to Bola Tinubu, presidential candidate of
the All Progressives Congress (APC), as an “elder brother”.
“Tinubu is a an elder brother of mine and I respect him for
who he is. They have, in various times in their life, contributed in their own
way in Nigeria. Everybody has contributed one way or the other in the past and
they have to be respected,” he said.
“Yes, because they have contributed in the past does not
necessarily mean they have to stay forever and forever. No, no, no. We must
have a situation where people have done their bit and they have to be
recognised for it and then they move on and things move on.
“It is like Brazil is
today. They recognise that Pele was sometime a star, a fantastic footballer.
But they are not going to field him in today’s match.”
Advertise on NigerianEye.com to reach thousands of our daily users
No comments
Post a Comment
Kindly drop a comment below.
(Comments are moderated. Clean comments will be approved immediately)
Advert Enquires - Reach out to us at NigerianEye@gmail.com