Full Text of Peter Obi’s The Platform 2016 Speech

In 2016, Peter Obi, the Presidential flagbearer of the Labour Party (LP) was invited to The Platform to speak on Cutting the Cost of Governance in Nigeria.

The Platform is an annual event, which commenced around 2007, powered by Pastor Poju Oyemade, the Senior Pastor and Founder of The Covenant Nation (TCN).

The Platform Nigeria events are typically created to foster growth in the following areas: personal capacity, productivity, and National Development within Nigeria.

For many Nigerians,  Peter Obi’s outing at The Platform 2016, marked the commencement of his presidential campaign.

Below is a full-text (transcribed) of the Peter Obi The Platform 2016 speech.

1. Well, I’ll start by thanking Pastor and his team. But I am sure if you are in my position, you’ll be feeling so bad standing here. Everything is being said about politicians and I am the only politician here.
2. Well, let me thank the Pastor. This is a wonderful, wonderful work. I came here and listened to all the speeches. The reason why is, I wanted to know what all this is about.
3. When I was invited. I’ve never seen this before. I never watched it before. So, when they invited me. They insisted. They kept texting me. I say well, let me come and see what these people are doing around this place. I didn’t know it is a place where politicians run into trouble. 
4. We have a country where … I’ll give you a few… I know they say statistics don’t work but I need to use a few statistics to tell you how good and bad things are, and what you can do based on what every speaker here has said. 
5. This year your country is expected to, you know…. Our expected revenue for this year is N7.2 trillion from both the state and the federal governments. The expected expenditure is 11.4 trillion. That’s a deficit of about 4.2 trillion. This is the kind of debt that has already been incurred a year ago by the same government. 
6. They will tell you today that Nigeria’s debt to GDP is under 20% – It’s small, that is what you’ll hear. This year, the federal govt provided for debt servicing 37 to 38% of their budget… Of the revenue, 38% is to service the debt. Because the revenue they are getting is not enough, half of the year, they use 51% to service the debt and they are borrowing more. You’ll hear words like, “we are going to spend our way out of recession.” I’m sure you have heard it? There’s nothing wrong in borrowing.
7. Let me say it here, just like he was talking about selling assets. There is nothing wrong with borrowing, but the question is, what are you borrowing for?  In a recession, the only way to come out of recession is to do what? Spend for growth. And you can only spend for growth either from savings or from borrowing and since you people don’t have savings. You’ve heard it, how our savings were squandered, whether excess crude, anything, by the governors, everybody was right, the money is gone. 
8. But now, in order to spend, we need to borrow and there’s nothing wrong with borrowing but the question is, what are you borrowing for? Are you borrowing for consumption, or are you borrowing for production? 
9. The fear is that we are borrowing for consumption. Because we can’t see what we used the past borrowing or what we sold before for. That is the crisis we face, and that is the critical thing everybody has to watch. 
10. When you borrow for consumption when you have no savings, you are heading for a disaster and I’ll give you examples using two countries. When they talk about debt to GDP. The country with the highest debt to GDP is Japan. Japan’s debt to GDP is 246%. However, Japan has the highest net asset of any country in the world. They have 1.3 trillion in US dollars bond and everything. So they have money. So they can afford to borrow. Greece have 180% because they didn’t have money, they collapsed. Because there was no savings and that is the crisis.
11. So, when you see people like me… say they wanted to give money to governors and say bailout. I was a governor, I should be supporting it, but I disagreed, I said, No! Before we give them the money, let them tell us what they are doing, because it is wrong for us to pay a bill of a drunk while he is still in the bar. He has to come out of the bar first then we’ll settle what he has drank before and that is where I disagree. 
12. I believe that for me…I don’t want to talk about federal government today. The topic they gave me is Cutting the Cost of Governance and I don’t want to talk about federal government. Other experts will talk about them. But let me talk about where I served – the sub-national government. 
13. Out of this 11.4 trillion expenditure expected this year, the states have 5.4 trillion, and I believe that this 5.4, we can save at least a trillion, at least they won’t borrow it, because it is going to be borrowed, we can save at least a trillion and people will say to me, how are you going to save it? How? 
14. One, I always say it, out of this so-called 5.4 trillion, 12%-15% is used in running the office of the governor, including the so-called, controversial security votes, aid, everything takes almost between 12 and you are looking at about 600 to 800billion. Thereby, I want you to listen to me. 
15. Thereby, if you decide to reduce it to between 3- 5% it would be between 200 and 300 billion, you save at least 450 to 600 billion. That’s a saving of at least 450 billion. 
16. If you decide to do proper procurement, competitive procurement that is competitive, you save as much as the same amount. So with these two, you’ve saved almost 900 billion.
17. If you decide to do away with the unconstitutional office of FirstLady. It is very unconstitutional and adds a lot of confusion to what is happening.
18. It cost an average state today about 2 billion to run that office and all the office does is create confusion.
19. So if you decide do away with it, at 2 billion average in a state, you have an additional 2 billion which is 72 billion, add it to our 900 billion, we have about 970 billion.
20. If you decide today, most states have an average of about six bulletproof vehicles. Today, it’s about 100 million naira for one. If you times it by six then times by thirty-six, it comes to about 21.6 billion. But if you reduce it to two, it will be about 7.2billion and you save about 14 point something billion. 
21. If you decide, the average government house have about 25 jeeps. Today’s prices are about 35 to 40 million. So you are looking at an average of … if you use 35 million it’s N875 million each multiplied by 36. Again, if you reduce it from 25 to 8, you save about N15 billion. 
22. We don’t need dispatch rider or whatever they are. These people that create a lot of noise. You don’t need that machine. You can go without them. Each of those machine cost about 12 to N15 million and I can tell you most states have about 6,7, 8 of them. If you do away with them, you’ll find out that it is another savings of probably N3 billion.  
23. Travelling. Every government house or governor can tell you the number of travelling budget, logistics, they call it all sorts of names. It’s almost 500 to 600 million. I believe you can do with..if you times again, 600 times 36, I believe you can do all your travels for a third of that and you save another 15. So, if you look at what I’ve shown you now, you are going to save over one trillion and I can tell you it is practical. 
24. People will say to me, Peter, how is this possible? How is it not possible? My dear, I was a governor. When I came to office, my first three, four trips to Abuja, I travelled with over 30 people., over 30. Everybody have a title, to be on the plane. Everybody have a title to do this. 
25. So, wait a minute, I’m the only person invited to Abuja. I pay for 30 people who have no reason to be in Abuja. They constitute a problem to the traveling public. They follow me to Abuja. I’m the one who is going to go to meeting. 
26. Because they are idle and they are in hotel, they eat more. So, I have a lot of bills to pay. 
27. In the end, every trip was costing me over 10 million. One trip and I do this 4-5 times in a month.
28. So, after about the third or fourth trip, I sat down and said, I want you to write down the names of everybody for me and tell me why and what is the purpose of this person going to Abuja,
29. And what did they do? What happened? What did they do? When they finished, I found out that the only person that needs to go to Abuja is me, so I said to them, leave it, because some of you must have heard, “Peter Obi travels alone” No! Because the other people I don’t need them in Abuja.
30. I give you an example. If I had taken police from Awka to Abuja, that might be about 12 to 15 security men. And then each time I go, let me use today’s pricing. One ticket one way is about thirty-something thousand, coming back is thirty-something thousand. 
31. I found out that I can talk to the IG then, Onovo. I said, Onovo when I’m in Abuja, give me three policemen. The other person give me two. When I’m going, I give them five-five thousand, which is not up to ticket of one person going. So, nobody followed me to Abuja.
32. One minute, because my time is going o. So, nobody followed me to Abuja. So, when I’m coming, people say ha, “Peter Obi is traveling alone. He is carrying his bag. I’m a young man, I can carry my bag, what is there?
33. And I told them, I said, listen, this is not a problem I started from here. I had this same problem while I was in the bank. So, I know and I’ll tell you the experience. That stopped.
34. The House had to question me, at the end of the day…. There was a time they wanted to go to what they called World Igbo Congress in America, and they showed me that somebody before me had gone with forty million and they said they reduced my own, it is 32 million.  
35. I said to the Perm. Sec., can you write me what’s the implication of this to Anambra State? Nothing! He just kept telling me they have reduced it. I said no, no, no.  Let one person go. Whatever the Igbos is America discuss, they can tell us by this thing….
36. We now changed… We came to the government house. When I started being a governor, no Permanent Secretary in Anambra state had a car. The judges didn’t have a car.
37. And meanwhile theirs is in the budget provided there… there’s a one-fifty million naira for the government to buy two bulletproof cars for the governor, I said okay fine. 
38. I took it, called one Mr. Eric who was the then GM of PAN, with Onyemauche Nnamani and said, listen, I want you people to do me a favour.  I want to buy …  they used to sell Peugeot 406 for 3.7 million. I said I want to buy about 100 so you will sell it to me three million. 
39. The French man agreed with me,  so I took the 150, gave them as deposit, he gave me the first 50 vehicles, I had 18 judges so 18 . I had Permanent Secretaries 19 so 19. The governor will keep 10 so all my first tenure, if you are around Awka, I used 406 Peugeot and nobody kidnapped me, nobody shot me, and we saved that money, we had… 
40. Some of you have heard, I was removed from office twice, because he was talking about sharing money, and I can tell you why I was removed from office, it’s all part of this.
41. When I was starting, Anambra State government house was burnt, because when I tell you how we can save money, I want to tell you how we did it. How we were able to be the only government that left, I didn’t borrow money from anybody, instead saved. 
42. When Anambra State in 2004, the Anambra State governor’s house was burnt. The governor’s lodge as well as the government house. 
43. Coincidentally, in 2006 when I started the budget to repair the government house was 298 million. To repair the governor’s lodge was 481 million. These were the two reasons why I was impeached. The third was saving money without permission.
44. And I’ll say to them, wait a minute, I repaired everything in the governor’s house, which is governor’s office, I repaired everything with  43 million 200 thousand. 
45. The only thing I didn’t buy new was furniture because there is a table used by one of my predecessor that was kept somewhere and they said it’s old.
46. But, I called the furniture man and asked him, if you wipe this thing, wouldn’t it be neat? I just want to stay here and write, let’s leave to buy new one. Why are we buying new one?
47. The governor’s lodge had a poor… I want you to take note, I’m no longer the governor so these are things you can verify. The governor’s lodge, which was a budget of  486 million, I repaired everything with 81 million 700 thousand. 
48. In both of them because the contract was awarded before I came, they said I did it without passing through the due process, because they have awarded the contract and I said no!
49. Obasanjo as President… because one of the things I did is that, we had a governor’s lodge in  Lagos. We had a governor’s lodge in Abuja. We had almost 50 workers in Abuja, and I asked them why would a Governor of Anambra State have a lodge in Lagos? W hy would he have a lodge in Abuja? Does he live in Abuja? What is he doing in Abuja?
50. You know what they wrote me? Every other government have it. I said that’s not what I asked, why are we having lodge in Abuja? I don’t live there.
51. Each time I go to Abuja, the cook there, we will need to give him about 30 thousand to cook and I said cook, you are going back to Awka. It cost five thousand naira to eat buffet at Hilton and you charge me 30 here. So, what are you cooking here? You must go back to Awka and people will tell me, oh no! People will say ehn! what a minute, I say cook you must go, I shut down…
52. I leased our governors lodge here for 25 years, shut down our governor’s lodge at Abuja, everybody said to me, Peter you can’t do without governor’s lodge.  I didn’t have one for 8 years because it was not necessary I told everybody who was there we had almost 15 drivers in Abuja.
53. When I’m at the airport,  everybody is there creating confusion. I said listen, we need  3 drivers in Abuja, the rest would either have to go look for work or come to Awka. We don’t live in Abuja and everything. 
54. Obasanjo wanted to come to Anambra State, every state you go today they have they call Presidential lodge, and they said we have started building one for almost half a billion naira. I stopped it.
55. Obasanjo wanted to come to Anambra state and they say we don’t have, I said listen, tell Mr. President he can come in the morning and go in the evening. We don’t need him to sleep, they said no, no, no, he must sleep.
56. I said okay, let’s not worry about it, I went to him, he came in October, end of October, 2006, I went to him through the Chief of Staff, I said tell him please he can come in the morning and he said he must sleep, then I said okay, no problem.
57. I called his people since he cannot stay in a hotel and he must sleep, come and see where I live, if this place is okay for him, I’ll give you the keys for one month. Then I’ll go when he goes… they were very nice to me, I can tell you, they were very nice, they said to me we only need it only one week.
58. So I came back and told my dear wife, she’s the only one who had property there, I said bring out your things, the president is going to sleep in this our room, this room, we are going to give them the key.
59. I went across to a hotel called Pantonia, the man charges 30k per suite for that one week he charged me 100k. that is what I would have spent 500k.
60. So, Obasanjo came on Thursday, stayed Thursday, Friday, Saturday, he left, they gave me back my key and I saved 500 million naira which I would have used to build a lodge and would have been maintaining it by now.
61. So, Anambra state doesn’t have a presidential lodge because the President does not live in Anambra state, he lives in Abuja.
62. They said… They told me, that I don’t have… they said to me you must have a treated car, a bulletproof car that the president and his people can use. I said I don’t have, bring your motor here. All I’ll tell you is that I won’t enter it but I don’t have any, they argued and argued.
63. Luckily for me I have neighbouring state that bought that type of car. I said okay, I’ll go to this state and ask them to bring their car here when you people go they carry their vehicles. I don’t have and  won’t buy it.
64. What am I trying to say, you can do all these, you can save all these money, there is so much waste in our system and we all tolerate it.
65. People tell you today, our people, yes,I’ve quarreled with people, people will  say they come and do courtesy call that was what I was telling prof, I was quarelling with people, somebody will come to said he wants to do courtesy call, he wrote me letter, my protocol people came and said oga this bishop or this Erm! chief way come now, I said what? He said we will give him something, I said ah ah! imagine! the man just wrote that he wants to see me, did I ask him to come? why are we going to give him money? Get out of this place! The man wants to see me, and he wants to see me and that’s all. 
66. For us, what is more important for us, we have a government we plan to turn things around. What are we going to do, we adopted what we call the MDG goals and said we would go these goals and implement it from all these monies we are  going to save.
67. Whether is this, if you talk about security votes this is this, that’s how we started to do statistics to fight poverty and what did we discover when we did poverty mapping?
68. That the poorest areas in Anambra state their problem was access and I can say to you go to Anambra state  today, we have the best road network of any state in this country.
69. And then we look at it, we went into education, everybody knew that was shut down in Anambra state for two years under a particular government. When I started we were number 26 in WAEC, I said no, we must be among the first 10.
70. How are we going to do it? We looked at it and said okay, the best thing is to return these schools to the church, it belongs to them and would give them money directly and everything.
71. Of course that was very difficult. Everybody wanted to collapse the whole place, I said well..
72. You know my wife will always come back and say to me Peter these things you are doing, you know people are not happy, why are you always making trouble, this that and everything.
73. And I said, told her, I said listen, my dear wife – I have one of the most wonderful wife anybody will wish.
74. I will always say to her, listen Margaret, your problem is that you don’t understand, my job is not to make people happy. There are people in the entertainment industry to make people happy. My job is to take the right decision for the benefit of the people.
75. I’m telling you why I was impeached, the third reason why I was impeached was that I was saving money.
76. I said listen, we have, this is the only country in the world that has a diminishing asset called oil and they are not saving money.
77. Every other country has it as a law that a portion of these monies must be saved so I said in Anambra state we must save. It is a critical thing that we must save.
78. So when we went to education we said, I don’t want money again to be given to the ministry of education, money must go directly from our purse to the church.
79. They went and reported to federal government because their money was involved.
80. Of course, federal government set up a panel which was headed by the Governor of Rivers state today.
81. I said money shouldn’t be given to ministries because I have seen so many toll gates that will stop the money from being spent. Give it to the church.
82. When they came I showed them, this is the church school, this is our own, our own was not working but what happened, in less than 3 years, 2011, 2012, 2013, Anambra was number one in WAEC/NECO.
83. All these were possible because of the change we brought. We started saving money, everybody will tell you, Peter why are you keeping this money? Why are you doing this?
84. Let me give you the instance. Today Anambra remains the most financially stable states in this country.
85. If you don’t know, the day I left government 17^th March 2014, I had in Access bank, a bank in Nigeria 50 million dollars and about seven billion naira.
86. I had in Fidelity bank, a bank in Nigeria 55 million dollars and over 10 billion naira.
87. I had in Diamond bank, a bank in Nigeria 50 million dollars
88. What I had when I left was 154.4 million dollars.
89. By yesterday in terms of their yield because we call it future-generation money, and was supposed to terminate at 2050.
90. By yesterday it worth 185 million dollars, if you multiply it today that is about 500.
91. When you hear Peter Obi left 75 billion naira. If anybody doubts it, call me, I know where the money is, I kept it.
92. And on that day that I left, as at December, 2013, I didn’t owe any teacher, anybody at the local govt level, gratuity.
93. As at the day that I left, anybody in the civil service was not being owed gratuity or pension or salary and no contractor had a certificate that was pending.
94. I bought the highest number of vehicles as a governor from PAN then they gave me a certificate from Kaduna.
95. I was the one that bought the highest number of vehicles as a Governor from PAN. They gave me a certificate from Kaduna.
96. I started INNOSON factory. When INNOSON came to Anambra State. I laid the foundation of INNOSON’s factor and and when it was completed, I brought President Jonathan to commission it and there and then ordered from him 1000 vehicles.
97. That 1000 vehicles, how did I do it? About 600 and something was vehicles for schools, every single secondary school in Anambra had a bus. Then all the security, all the communities, I bought one one pickup for them. The traditional rulers, I bought one one this thing … 
98. When I was going people said, hey this is INNOSON, he just started. Do we know whether his car is good? He’s just starting. The brake is not working. I said, don’t worry let the remaining one who we remain after the other ones die, live.
99. That’s how that industry has been working today and nobody has been killed. Not one person, and that factory is functional.
100. We went on and if you see the cost implication if we had bought foreign vehicles versus INNOSON.
101. Just like if you see the foreign implication when people come to me and say we are going to furnish..like when I was rebuilding the houses, they will say – this furniture shop in Awolowo road…I said listen, if we cannot find anybody to do Governor’s bed in Akwa, then the Governor will sleep on the floor, forget it!
102. There must be a furniture man here, that will do me furniture in Akwa that I will sleep.
103. That’s how we brought one Mr Udoajah. I used to know him as a small boy. His company has collapsed. I called him, I said, do you still know how to do furniture? He said yes. I said, go and do all the bed that is here, whoever can’t sleep on it can go and sleep somewhere else. 
104. Why am I saying all these? All these things people tell you, this country today can still function on our income and be able to save money and that brings me to where all of you are guilty. 
105. Because  ..Yes, I would have agreed with the lady that talked about you. Yes, there’s a way you but you cannot do anything if you have the type of leadership this country has experienced in several years.
106. We are like a case of where lunatics took over the asylum and we must do something about it. You know, we must do something about it. Our leaders have to do what? We need to question their commitment and that is where you come in.
107. This is the only country where we vote people in and they don’t have a car, they don’t do anything, six months they invite us for housewarming, for, to wash their car.
108. Instead of us to call the police beacue we know where the money came from, we are busy dancing. Everybody is guilty of it.
109. I have been in a church where I know somebody stole money and the Bishop is saying wherever he got it from, may it multiply. The man is a thief! The man is a thief! He’s a thief. So, we should arrest him. It cannot multiply because he is stealing our money. People cannot continue…
110. If anybody in government comes to tell. Everybody have good story to tell. If anybody see  you … you in newspaper,I have done this road. Go to the road. 
111. I built a university from the scratch. It is in Igbu-ahia. 
112. I built a teaching hospital from the scratch, it is in Akwa, the fastest one. 
113. So, let people say where they did it. Don’t tell us in pages of newspapers.
114. Don’t give us awards, we want to know. If you say you want to export rice, let’s see the rice first. Let’s have it. 
115. All these is for you to take back the government. That is where I join Olisa in asking you, you can be the change, stop celebrating criminality. Let us say we cannot allow these people. It is your future they are toying with, including me. We’ve wasted your time.
116. People are talking about Bill Gates, Mark.Zu.., Steve Jobs, one minute o… If any of them were here, they won’t succeed. Quote me anywhere.
117. One minute, I went to school. I have been to the best of schools. I’ve been to Oxford, to Cambridge, I’ve been to all of them and I’ll tell you what. How many persons … have you ever seen any person in this country who walked into the bank and was given money based on his intellectual capital?
118. They will tell you to bring your grandmother’s house, your father’s old house, you grand.. by the time you finish it, that’s it.
119. Bill Gates was given 1 million dollars. Go and read the history of Microsoft – by a bank for a young boy who was in a garage.
120. Steve Jobs and his friend, Wozniak were given 2 million dollars. Who would have given them that type of money here? Nobody.
121. Let me tell you, Steve Jobs went and brought John Sculley who was the CEO of Pepsi. Steve Jobs sent him a text and continued to send him a text. Do you want to continue selling sugared water or do you want to be part of changing the world?
122. One day, John Sculley stood up and said to Pepsi, where he is President and CEO, I am leaving this company. I want to go and join this small boy that is in a garage. Which person will do it here? His people will say them don do am medicine o. Nobody will do it.
123. The government will not support you. You do anything here, the government will not patronise you. They rather patronise a white man. So, that’s where I join Olisa to say, let us take it back. Let nobody tell you there’s not enough money. No. 
124. Tell me what a governor in Nigeria needs a dispatch rider for. What for? If I tell you how we stopped fuel. 
125. We used to have a fuel dump when I was a governor. Fuel dump. It was costing us almost 30 million a month. They said, hey..I said, shut it down.
126. I found out that my convoy in the first two weeks, because it was about 22 vehicles, was costing about 300 thousand to buy fuel.
127. Of course, you know what happens to half of it. So, I said, you know what we are going to do? Bring down the convoy (people in Anambra are here). I don’t use siren.  I asked them carry this thing and go. My convoy is 5 vehicles I asked them to bring down the number of vehicles and you cannot buy fuel except I am inside the car, I’ll pay them. No more!
128. People will say, hey… wait a minute. I’m telling the youths that are here, it is your future they are toying with.
129. I have children. I have kids. I have two lovely children that are graduates. Somebody told me just yesterday (my friend, Chidi and I were going somewhere) I was telling him about the text my daughter sent to me. I wish I read that type of text to you and you will understand.
130. Somebody said to me, I saw your son going to (that one was in Vietnam) he was going to run somewhere, he said he was going to interview. Peter can’t you give him a job? Peter can’t you do this? The boy doesn’t even have a car.
131. And I said, none of my children have car. I’m the only person who was Governor and Bank Chairman, not them. Nobody elected them. They have to look for job. They have to do what they need to do. 
132. Take back your country! This country belongs to you! It is your future that they are toying with. You must take it back from them. It is not their country and you must take it back from them. 
133. How will you take it back from them? How will you take it back from them? 
134. When they invite you, go to your local government Chairman and ask the Chairman who receives 100 million naira every month, what does he does with it?  
135. He’ll tell you no problem yet he’s buying new jeep. This is somebody who has never seen car in his life now uses jeep. 
136. His wife have become first lady of the local government. You go everywhere, convoy will pass you and they will say it is first lady of the state. First what? This woman is ( like they used to tell me then). Hey… you are not treating your wife fairly. You are not doing this this…there’s so many cost. If I take time and tell you cost of governace, you won’t be here. 
137. When I started we had about 10 governor’s guest house. I said what is governor going to do with these? I go to work in the morning and go back in the evening. 
138. I’ll come back my cook then will cook food that 50 people.. And, I said, what is this for? They were killing cow every day. 
139. He said, Your Excellency, I’m doing it in case you come back with people.
140. I said, have you ever seen me come back here with anybody? So why are you cooking for the people? Any day people will come here, I will let you know. Cook for only one person. Me. I said, don’t do it.
141. You know I come from Anambra State. There are too many big men. Of course, like I tell them, I said, don’t allow any of them here. I don’t have what it takes to entertain them.
142. So what they do, they phone me “Peter I want to see you”. I tell them, I’ll come to your house in the evening. So I go to his house, because there he’ll bring his champagne and eat his fabulous food and at times when I’m going, they’ll give me some to take back. Goodbye. 
143. Don’t come to government house because government house is not a restaurant. It’s not a place to drink champagne. 
144. A bottle of champagne today costs about 400 thousand, 500 thousand. That is salary of 20 people at twenty-twenty thousand and you drink it with public money?  No, we can’t do that. If you want to do that, you go to your house. So, I said to them, No. This is government money.
145. We brought down the cost of feeding the governor. If I tell you where we brought it down from, this will be enough. Don’t worry about me and I can go on and on. You can go..I worked with people, it’s not anything. It’s not any magic. 
146. I fly..every flight I have taken while I was a governor, was economy. Reason is simple. If I come they say, Business Class, 54 thousand. Another one, you go to Internet, it is 19 thousand. Is it not just from Abuja to this for 40 munites…why would I pay additional thirty. I said, No.
147. I went to Young Shall Grow and say your hotel in Abuja can you give me discount? He gave me 50 percent. So, to sleep there is 30 thousand naira. And, I said no, these things.. that is what people want me to go to another bigger hotel and stay for 250 thousand naira, and people say Oh Peter is doing that.
148. I say, well, I have a problem, if I go there and pay somebody 250, I will be awake. I won’t even sleep because I’ll think they have stolen my money. Because, I will think they have stolen my money. 
149. It is important you understand, our government, we need to shut down cost of governance. 
150. No state government needs a house in Abuja. The governor doesn’t live in Abuja. They don’t need all these. Nobody wants to kill you. 
151. I was governor for 8 years without bulletproof car.  I must tell you that I bought one but I didn’t use it and nobody killed me. I was using Prado. They will say hey…it is not balanced. It is not this.
152. Another thing they keep telling me – that government vehicles because of the high traffic, it’s every six months. I say wetin. If you remove this car from here…because you know what they do? They take it into auction and sell..I said, No, this car is here for the term. We will use it. What do you think you are doing to yourself?
153. And people say, where did you get money to save? Where did you get money to save? We got those monies .. we were owing gratuities and pensions of people for 35 billion. We were able to pay it.   Because we have to shut down everything. I said, this cannot happen.
154. Nobody will ever tell you they came to party, while I was Governor for eight years. It is not a nightclub. It is governor’s lodge. When I finish, I go home. If anybody wants to dance, they go to nightclub. That is his business.
155. So, all I’m trying to say is …no visitor will put you in a hotel if you have any value to offer..and go and check, we are Number One in implementation of MDG.  We got award for it, I spoke at the UN.
156. Go to European Union, we were Number One in European Union while I was there.
157. Why am I saying this? We were able to meet up every obligation. 
158. So, my dear people, Yes, it is good to stay here and feel bad and do everything, but let me beg you. You have no other country except this one and only you can build it.
159. If anybody is telling you those people out there they don’t know you, they don’t care about you. If they cared, they would do things differently.
160. You will see it in their behaviour. You will see it in the way they do things, the way they feel, the way they move, and everything. Because they are doing that, what I beg you is that you must decide, like Olisa pleaded.
161. Get up and decide to join politics. Get up and be part of it. The man who is leading revolution in Hong Kong is 17 years old. He is 17 years old.
162. My dear people, the society we help them to abuse today will take its revenge on all of us tomorrow.
163. Thank you and God bless you.