The presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP) in the 2023 general election, Peter Obi said he was not desperate to be the President of Nigeria.

Obi spoke while reacting to his award as the Leadership Politician of the Year 2023 at the newspaper’s Annual Conference and Awards event in Abuja on Tuesday.

According to Obi, it was a shame for Ukraine, a war-torn country, to donate grains to Nigeria when Niger State alone can feed the whole of Africa.

He said, “Let me thank the LEADERSHIP Newspaper for this event and the award. We’ve all heard from the keynote speaker.

“For me, this award, I am grateful to the almighty God. If I have the opportunity, I will give my all to the country.

“I am not desperate to be president, I am desperate to make Nigeria work,” Obi stated, while adding that young Nigerians should be productively engaged in order to eliminate poverty and crime.

“We have no reasons to be poor. Poverty should never be part of our lives especially in the North,” Obi said.

He added that with over 7,442,00 square meters of land, Nigeria can feed Africa.

Obi said, “Ukraine has no reason to give us grain. Niger State can feed Nigeria, Africa with over 73, 000 square meters of land.

“The two biggest states in the North-East, Borno with over 70,000 square metres of land and Taraba, are four times the size of Belgium that is exporting food.

“There is so much we can do in the country if we have the right leadership. The more you remove people out of poverty, the more you have less criminals,” Obi said.