‘Listening clinics, climate networks’ – Pat Utomi shares LP programmes for 2023 polls

Pat Utomi, professor of political economy, has unveiled the plans Labour Party (LP) has for Nigerians as the party prepares to officially begin its campaign for the 2023 elections.

Speaking on Tuesday at the unveiling of the party’s programmes in Lagos, he encouraged youths to rise up to environmental challenges, adding that the month of August is significant because Africa is observing its climate month and the world is celebrating youths.

“The scope of our announcement today will include programmes of the youth and the useful clean-up to take back their country in this Africa climate month,” he said. 

“As we all know, August is Africa’s climate month. We also know that the real scourge that is throwing the world into a huge panic right now is the environment. And so, August has been set aside as climate change month for Africa to use to activate a response to the challenge of the environment. Interestingly enough, International Youth Day also happens to be in August. 

“In this year that Africa is hosting COP27 in Sharm el Sheikh in Egypt, we want to urge the youths of our country, through a systematic programme that the #Obidient movement is developing to begin to take over their country by taking over the environmental challenge.

“We want the youths to clean up and take back their country in this Africa climate month in which we mark the International Youth Day.” 

He also said the party hopes to set up entrepreneurial programmes as well as “listening clinics” across Nigeria to listen to citizens’ problems and offer suggestions on how to solve them. 

He said the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) have failed in these areas, but that the LP hopes to make 2023 a people’s government, in which people can be heard in the drive to build a new Nigeria. 

“Entrepreneurship training programmes will be offered free to young people across Nigeria, from Jigawa to Jos and Jakande estates in Lagos, and capital support prepared in the associations that we have, with your ‘soro soke’ third force,” he said.

“In addition, we will talk about the listening clinics that we plan during the course of this month and going further from this month, these listening clinics will be opportunities for people across the country in different economic sectors and communities to express themselves about what their real problems are and tell us where the pain is, and suggest to us how they think the healing can come. 

“At the germination of the third force is that the government of 2023 will be the people’s government, which inclines us to begin the necessary corrections of the biggest area of mistake of the APC and the PDP. 

“In our view, the biggest failure of both the APC and the PDP is that they forgot about how to listen and to listen to the people. So, they cut the people off without probably recognising it. And the saying is that the voice of the people is the voice of God and you truly lose it once you stop listening to the voice of the people and acting according to that voice. 

“We want to begin the change to build a new Nigeria through these listening clinics. We want to listen to Nigerians of every shape, colour, interest and level.”