By Oluwatobi Aworinde

The Labour Party (LP) presidential candidate, Peter Obi, on Tuesday, returned to his home state of Anambra where he and his running mate, Datti Baba-Ahmed, received a hero’s welcome from supporters.

Accompanied by the leadership of the party, the presidential hopeful held a rally at the All Saints Cathedral Church field, Onitsha, during which he vowed to fix Nigeria and bring it to an envious height to the extent that no one would wish to leave for another country.

Greeted by a crowd that occupied the field to maximum capacity and stretched further to nearby neighbourhoods, the former Anambra governor shared his manifesto.

The party leadership described the massive attendance as a clear indication that the people are tired and seek the relief offered by the LP.

Baba-Ahmed, who spoke on his reasons for identifying with Obi, said his principal is a gift to the people of Anambra State and the “most competent” out of all other candidates.

“I believe in justice and that is why I’m with Peter Obi. Between South-East and North-West, there is a strong history of friendliness – in fact, between the whole South and the whole North. To live as one, a leader like Peter Obi must be elected in Nigeria,” the LP vice presidential candidate said.

The National President of the party, Julius Abure, told the crowd that “the light that will rescue Nigeria” is coming from among them.

“Are you not a special generation?” he asked. “Onitsha has always produced great leaders and another one is about to come.”

Political economist Prof. Pat Utomi, in his address, noted that they must have their permanent voter cards (PVCs), adding, “You will make sure that you go to the rural areas, that you talk to all those market women and tell them that it is ‘mama, papa, pikin.’”

A member of the LP Presidential Campaign Council (PCC), Aisha Yesufu, also said the rally was to make a statement that “a new Nigeria is possible.”

Earlier in the day, Obi was in Awka where he interacted with students of Nnamdi Azikiwe University and assured them of smooth and uninterrupted academic sessions in Nigeria void of industrial actions if elected president.

He also met with Anambra traditional rulers at the Conference Hall of the Government House, Awka, where he proffered solutions to challenges of poverty, youth unemployment and drug prevalence which he said he would fight with job creation, and economic stability through production instead of consumption.