“It’s not our money. The stealing has to stop,” Peter Obi speaks again
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Obi, a former Anambra governor, who noted that the country was going through a difficult phase, said that Nigeria possessed everything to be great. “Whenever I have the privilege of speaking to Nigerians, I will say, please remember Nigeria in your prayers.
By Adeyemi Adeleye
The 2023 Presidential Candidate of the Labour Party, Mr Peter Obi has urged Nigerians to always pray that God should touch the hearts of their leaders to use public money for public good.
“It is not our money. The stealing has to stop” Obi said in his remarks at the Service of Songs of Chief Okuji Awa, a former Deputy Comptroller General (DGC) of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) on Thursday in Lagos.
Obi, a former Anambra governor, who noted that the country was going through a difficult phase, said that Nigeria possessed everything to be great.
“Whenever I have the privilege of speaking to Nigerians, I will say, please remember Nigeria in your prayers.
“Remember Nigeria in your prayers. We are going through a difficult time.
“Always put your prayer points to God to touch the hearts of leaders, including me, to use public money for public good.
“It is not our money. The stealing has to stop.
“They (Nigerians) must pray to God to help them (leaders) to think about the future of the society their children will live in,” Obi said.
According to him, the major problem facing the country is poor leadership and wastage of public resources.
He added: “We are the problem of Nigeria.
“Nigeria is a country God blessed with everything, and removes only one thing we need, bad leadership.
“So pray for us. Do remember me and everybody who is listening in prayers, so that God will change our hearts to think for the country.”
Pouring encomiums on the deceased, Obi said that the late customs officer used to be his acquaintance when he was trading in Lagos in the 1980s and was popularly known as “Awa Customs”, “Tariff Wizard”.
Praying for the repose of the deceased, Obi asked God to grant the family the fortitude to bear the irreparable loss.
Speaking about the father, Prof. Ngozi Imaga, (late Awa’s last child) described her late father as an encourager , “ever present” father, a disciplinarian, God-fearing, loving and accommodating.
Rev. Toyokeke Oka, Minister-in-Charge, Lagos Presbyterian Church Yaba, during his sermon, said that the deceased was an active and dedicated member of the church. who was always willing to help.
He urged people to be upright and just, in all their dealings on earth.
Awa’s diligence and expertise while in office, were instrumental in shaping the HS Codes and Tariff policies still in use today.
He was responsible for the conversion from the old British TN Tariff system to the current Harmonised System.
Awa passed on at the age of 88 years old.(NAN)
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