Obi made the declaration while addressing supporters at a campaign rally in Bayelsa State, where he promised to restore security and ensure Nigerians could travel freely and carry out their daily activities without fear of attacks.
The former Anambra State governor said his administration would prioritise national unity, stressing the need to build a country where every region and group feels included in the Nigerian project.
“We will make Nigeria work. We will make Nigeria a place where people will live. We will secure Nigeria. Nobody will live in Nigeria where you can’t travel on the road again,” he said.
Obi pointed to his recent journeys across several states by road, describing the experience as evidence of the urgent need to strengthen security along major highways.
“I came to Bayelsa this morning from Enugu by road; I moved around Nigeria by road. On Tuesday, I was in Lokoja; on Wednesday, I was in Akwanga; yesterday, I was in Ebonyi, and today I am in Bayelsa. Our roads must be secured,” he stated.
He also criticised President Bola Tinubu over what he described as the President’s failure to visit Bayelsa State, despite its significant contribution to Nigeria’s economy through oil production.
The NDC candidate questioned Tinubu’s frequent international trips, arguing that the President should devote more time to engaging with Nigerians at home.
“This is a state where Nigeria discovered oil. This is a state where we get money we share, and the President said he will not come here to campaign,” Obi said.
“Our President has travelled out of the country for over 200 days, sometimes 260 days, but he will not come to Bayelsa for one day, and he wants you to vote for him.”
Addressing the country’s worsening security challenges, Obi promised that an NDC-led government would take decisive measures against kidnappers, particularly those who abduct schoolchildren and other vulnerable citizens.
He vowed that his administration would not hesitate to mobilise rescue operations into forests to secure the release of abducted victims.
“NDC will secure Nigeria under our government. If anybody takes schoolchildren, if anybody kidnaps anybody, I will go into the bush. We will go into that bush and rescue the person. Nobody will try that in our government,” he declared.
Beyond security, Obi pledged to tackle corruption and ensure that public resources were managed transparently and used for the benefit of Nigerians.
He maintained that an NDC government would prioritise education, electricity and other essential public services, promising to work with state governments to provide free basic education.
“They say if you fight corruption, corruption will fight you back. And I’m telling you, under the NDC, you run away. You will not fight back because we will use public money for public good,” he said.
“Under NDC, your children will be in school; there will be classrooms. We will work with the states to ensure that basic education, which is primary, will be free.”
On power supply, the presidential hopeful promised to overhaul the electricity sector, with a target of producing, transmitting and distributing at least 10,000 megawatts of electricity.
“We will produce, transmit and distribute a minimum of 10,000 megawatts of electricity. The minimum we have today under APC is 4,000,” Obi said.
His promises, which cover national security, anti-corruption, education and electricity, formed the central themes of his campaign message to supporters in Bayelsa State.
