November 21, (THEWILL) – Nollywood Actor, Tony Umez has joined the league of entertainers throwing their weight behind presidential candidates ahead of the 2023 general election.
The actor has stated that he is supporting labour party presidential candidate, Peter Obi.
Obi is contesting for president under the Labour Party (LP), with Yusuf Datti as his running mate.
In a chat with BBC, he expressed concern about poverty and what he described as misrule in Nigeria.
The actor disapproved of candidates whom he said unduly assume that ruling Nigeria is their birthright.
He endorsed Obi for the presidency, arguing that the LP candidate is saying and has done the right things.
“Some think it’s their birthright to rule. I don’t know where that came from. If I would vote tomorrow, I’d vote for Peter Obi. I’m not saying he’s a good man. But he’s saying the right things and has done the right things,” he said.
“There is much rage right now. Nigeria is blessed with great human and natural resources but we’ve not been blessed with good leadership. The young ones are angry about how things turned out.
“There are some people that have been thrown up that I feel are not credible enough to rule us. Poverty has been so weaponised, people sell their votes. I think if you’re part of a problem, you can’t be part of the solution.”
Umez condemned what he termed sit-tight rulership in Africa and criticised the Muhammadu Buhari government.
“The thing is that the people you saw when you were much younger, you still see in leadership now. There’s this “sit-tight-ism” in Africa. How do you grade a government? Education, transportation, and security. ” the actor said.
“Looking at this government now by all these indices, how would you grade this government? For me, sub-zero.
“Maybe they’ve done some things. But whatever you do that doesn’t impact positively on the citizenry, it’s nonsense. People in government have nothing to fall back on, that’s why they sit tight in power.
“You ask someone what they do and they say they’re a politician. Is that a job? It’s a call to service. But for these guys, that’s where they earn a living. People steal with impunity and there’s no integrity among our leaders.”
About the Author
