Obi spoke when he featured on an Arise TV interview monitored by The Harmattan News on Wednesday.
Obi’s comment came on the heels of claims made by Rabiu Kwankwanso, New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) standard bearer and Buba Galadima that a South-East presidency under the current political circumstances was impossible.
Reacting, the former Anambra governor said such claims were responsible for the mess the country had become.
He noted that Nigeria deserves experts ready to pull it back from the brink irrespective of region, religion and ethnicity.
“The comment from Kwankwaso is why we have millions in poverty and many children out of school, coupled with massive unemployment and insecurity. This is because Nigerians rather vote for incompetence based on ethnicity and religion”, he said.
“The insecurity has culminated in a bandit attack on PMB; is it because a South-East politician is in charge?!Are Nigerians in the North prospering because a Northerner is in charge? We refuse to hire qualified people required for the job and we need to redress these issues. ASUU is on strike and we keep fighting on zoning and whom to vote for.
“Nigeria needs a specialist to save her life and this is where I come in. I don’t want people to vote for me based on my region; I want their votes because I am competent enough to pull Nigeria out of the mess.
“The comments by Galadima over Igbos being at the lower rung is out of place considering the country’s situation — most times, those people at the lower rung can proffer the solutions and those at the higher rung brought the country to the current situation”, he added.
The presidential candidate also dismissed allegations that he sponsored agitations by Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), promising to deal with the issues carefully should he get the mandate in 2023.
“I have never been involved in sponsoring any agitation, whether IPOB or anyone. In 2017, I made a comment that IPOB and other agitations were as a result of leadership failure who which failed to tackle these issues and if I am in power, I will deal with these agitations via dialogue and if there are remnants, they will be dealt with decisively.
“The issue of badge and identification is a lie and throughout my tenure as a governor, Kwankwaso never visited me”, he said.