Peter Obi: As president, I’d dialogue with agitators — but not bandits

Peter Obi, the presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), says he will dialogue with agitators if he becomes president.

Speaking on Wednesday when he was interviewed on Arise TV’s ‘Prime Time’, Obi said there is a need to restructure the country but added that constitutional restructuring will take time.

“We need to restructure the country, it is for the good of the country. It will be constitutional restructuring but that will take time. There’s one you need to deal with. You don’t need to wait for that kind of restructure before pulling people out of poverty,” he said.

“To deal with issues of security, you don’t need to wait for constitutional restructuring.  Those ones will happen and it for the interests of the whole nation.”

Obi said he would not dictate to people as president, but will, instead, encourage dialogue and help society.

“For those who are agitating, and disagreeing, you first start by dialogue. No matter who they are, I will discuss with everybody so that you will know when to throw a line and say we’ve tried this and it’s not working,” he said.

When asked if he would dialogue with bandits, he said “they are not among people I will discuss with”.

“Bandits are bandits, criminals are criminals. I’m going to deal with it decisively,” he said.

“Those who want to be discussed with will be discussed with. Those who are agitating, those who feel unhappy, my job is to bring them to the table.”

Political parties officially kicked off their campaigns on Wednesday, September 28, ahead of the 2023 general election.

Members of the LP kickstarted their campaign activities with a mega rally in Jos, the Plateau state capital.