Peter Obi pledges Nigeria-based holidays if elected president

Peter Obi, presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress, has pledged to spend his holidays in Nigeria rather than abroad if elected president. Obi made the promise in an Independence Day address on Thursday. He said his holidays during a four-year presidency would include visits to Zamfara, Borno, Kwara, Ebonyi, Edo and Ekiti states, among others.

He said the visits would allow him to spend time with Nigerians, listen to their concerns, understand their challenges and observe the country directly. “In four years as President of this great nation, I will not spend my holidays outside Nigeria,” Obi said. The pledge formed part of a broader message calling for leadership centred on the welfare and productivity of citizens.

Obi said his proposed administration would make governance measurable and accountable and that Nigerians would see tangible effects of what he called purposeful leadership within the first year. He referred to a recent visit to an internally displaced persons camp at Ramin Kura in Sokoto State, which he said he made with Senator Rabiu Kwankwaso. According to Obi, discussions there covered insecurity, out-of-school children, poverty, youth unemployment, drug abuse and related problems.

Obi said women and children in the camp were living in difficult conditions after being displaced from their homes. He argued that they should instead be able to live in their communities, attend school, farm, conduct businesses and contribute to the economy. The candidate said his proposed administration would seek to build a Nigeria that was secure, united and productive, with public resources used for the public good.

He described public office as a sacred trust and called for citizens to demand accountability. The supplied material records Obi’s pledges and proposals but provides no further details about implementation plans, funding or the timeline for the promised first-year results.