Vice presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in 2019, Peter Obi, on Monday, stated that Nigerians speaking truth were being targeted.
He specially hailed the Senator representing Abia South Senatorial District, Enyinnaya Abaribe, for always standing by what is right.
The former Anambra State Governor spoke at Musa Yar’Adua Centre in Abuja, during Abaribe’s book launch.
Obi told the gathering that he was at the ceremony on dual capacities.
“I am here today as the representative of the Presidential Candidate of the People’s Democratic Party, in the last elections, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar and in my own capacity as the chairman of the occasion.”
Obi described Abaribe as a true legislator, a law preacher and a law defender.
“Enyinnaya Abaribe is courageous in speaking out when there is injustice, falsehood, marginalization and speaking truth to power, especially in a country where it is a grave offence to do so”, he said.
Obi noted that he knows how it feels to be persecuted for speaking the truth.
“I know this myself because I know what I go through when I speak out against the ills of government, especially the financial recklessness and political irresponsibility that has pervaded every part of our nation.
“Even this morning, in a conference, I disagreed with a position by another presenter who quoted NBS saying that the poverty line in Nigeria is estimated at N137,430 per person per year, therefore those who earn more than that are considered sufficient.
“We should draw our own poverty line from the global standard of less than$1.90 per day, also used other developing countries. By our official exchange rate, the global poverty line is about N900 per person per day, even though I peg it at N1000 and N30,000 per person per month.”
Obi urged the government to implement measures that will combat the increasing poverty in the country.
He urged prominent citizens to speak out against the ills of the society such as insecurity, banditry, increasing poverty, waste in governance.
