The Presidential Candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Peter Obi, says the Minister of Works, Dave Umahi, can qualify to call for debate only when he becomes a presidential candidate.
Umahi had, in response to Obi’s criticism of the state of Nigerian roads, challenged him to a public debate.
However Obi, during an interview with media entrepreneur Chude Jideonwo, responded to Umahi’s challenge, saying the minister does not qualify for such debate.
The former Anambra State governor argued that presidential debates are reserved for candidates seeking the nation’s highest office, insisting that Umahi does not fit that category.
“If he is inviting me to a debate as a presidential candidate, then he has to become a presidential candidate first,” Obi said.
Obi drew an analogy with international football, and likened Umahi’s challenge to a team that failed to qualify for the FIFA World Cup inviting a qualified team to a match.
“The World Cup is going on now. You cannot stay outside and invite a team that qualified for the World Cup to come and play against you simply because you think you are good. No. There is a qualification process,”
Obi said his criticism has led to the repair of the section of the road where he stood and drew the attention of government to the its poor state.
He maintained that leadership should be measured by performance rather than rhetoric, and noted that the repairs carried out after his criticism underscored the importance of holding public officials accountable.
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