'Saving govt money now an issue?' - Obi responds to Tinubu’s ‘Mr Stingy’ remark

Peter Obi, the presidential candidate of the Labour Party has responded to remarks made by Bola Tinubu, the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) about his fiscal discipline while he was governor of Anambra State.

Recall that Tinubu, while speaking at the party's rally in Akure, the Ondo State capital described Obi as stingy.

While stating his plans for the country, Tinubu said his vision for the country can only be harvested by progressive and democratic governance, which according to him Obi cannot do.

Tinubu’s words: “He [Obi] cares little that his policies and actions have a chance to show how progressive he could be when he was the governor of Anambra State. All he could do was boast that he saved money – I don’t know how much.

“But I tell you, it is a wicked parent like Obi, given the opportunity to feed his children, invest in tomorrow on their behalf and hold money in his hands while the children starve and go to bed hungry. That is Obi wickedness,” he said.

But the former Anambra State governor has quashed the accusation.

Obi while speaking as a special guest in a program on the Human Rights Radio popularly called Berekete, in Abuja, on Monday said that it is his fiscal discipline that is being mistaken for stinginess.

He explained that the perception of him being stingy is his fiscal discipline in the management of public funds and those who lose out in the blockage of waste consider this as being stingy.

“Saving money is not in the constitution of Nigeria but my Presidency will change our sharing mentality to saving and production mentality,” Obi said.