The Presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), Peter Obi on Thursday, promised that his administration will be driven by youths and women mostly if elected as President in 2023.
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Peter Obi made this known during a town Hall meeting with youths and students in Port Harcourt, stating that it does not mean the old people will not be there but they will mostly serve as advisers, while the youths will spearhead the government.
Obi vowed to increase education funding and grant autonomy to universities, and also grant loans to students who are financially incapacitated.
The former Governor of Anambra State also promised that strikes in the education sector are nipped in the bud finally.
The LP flagbearer regretted that there had been much talk about physical infrastructure in this country and no effort to build the human infrastructure, which is education.
He said: “This government is going to be a youth and women’s government. The old people will be there as advisers. They will guide us; we will respect them but the youth will spearhead it.”
“A government that refused to recognize the impact of education on development is doomed,” he said, reiterating what is contained in his manifesto that education will be well funded.
“I said we will fund education; we will increase the funding. We will invest in education because the greatest investment any society can do is education. The more educated a society is, the more developed it will be.
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“So, we will fund education at the tertiary level through collaborations. The government will bring the money and we can also get some corporations to support, and we will give students loans. Universities should be able to manage their resources, so they don’t have to shut down.
“I will not allow them to make you stay eight years for a five years course. Five years will be five years. If I have a problem with ASUU it is between me and them. You shouldn’t suffer for our disagreement.”
The former Governor of Anambra State said that as President he would participate in the running of the Universities.
He added: “I assure you that when I become president I will visit at least 10 universities in a year. I visited over 500 secondary schools when I was a governor in Anambra. All their school prefects have my phone number and I deal with them directly. To make universities work; so I am going to visit the universities and make them work.”
Obi also met with the Rivers state traditional rulers in their chamber where he was warmly received by their chairman, His Majesty, King Dsndedon Douglas Jaja, the Amanyanbo of Opobo.
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He was accompanied by the leadership of the party and the campaign council.
