A picture circulating social media has shown Niger State Governor Muhammad Umar Bago on bended knees and head bowed to Tinubu after calling Peter Obi “Boss” and validating his stance on accepting grains from Ukraine, a nation torn in war.
Reacting to this, Peter Obi, the Labour Party 2023 presidential candidate, commended Ukraine’s action, saying it is a “national disgrace” that war-torn Ukraine is donating food to Nigeria.
“It is disheartening that our once economically confident nation, blessed with vast arable land and abundant natural resources, now relies on a war-torn Ukraine for food assistance.
“This national disgrace stems from years of leadership failure, necessitating urgent reflection and a reordering of our national priorities and resource management and allocation,” Obi said.
Echoing this sentiment during the LEADERSHIP 2023 Conference and Awards held at the Transcorp Hilton Hotels, Abuja, Governor Bago expressed that Obi had said nothing but the truth and that it was a shame for countries like Ukraine in war to donate food to Nigeria.
He also asserted that people may not like the presidential candidate but must listen to his ideas as the country has no reason to be poor. He also stressed the need for the nation to become productive, stating that it cannot alleviate poverty unless it begins producing. Bago said:
“My boss (Peter Obi), you are very right with what you have said, we have no reason to be poor. People may not like you, but they must hear you, because what you say is the gospel truth; Nigeria needs to be productive. You cannot be out of poverty unless you start to produce.
“I am not an advocate of hand-out palliatives too. I don’t believe in it. So, it is high time we tell ourselves the basic truth. We need to feed ourselves, and it’s a shame for people like Ukraine in war to be giving us food,” he stated.
At the time of this report, there were no official statements explaining the governor’s demonstration in the picture in circulation. Still, citizens on social media speculate that the image was released to put him under check.
However, speaking during his appointment ceremony as the Grand Patron of the Nigeria Union of Journalists, Niger State Council, on Thursday, Governor Bago called on the Federal Government to consider regulating content on social media platforms to combat the dissemination of fake news in the country.
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