The Labour Party (LP) presidential candidate, Peter Obi, on Thursday received the mass endorsement of Nigerian movie practitioners.
This came after he met with Nollywood actors and other stakeholders in the Nigerian entertainment industry to solicit their support for his political ambition ahead of the forthcoming 2023 election.
The former Anambra Governor, during the meeting which held at Wheatbaker Hotel, Ikoyi, and had in attendance, Chidi Mokeme, Peter and Paul Okoye (P-Square), comedian Okey Bakassi, and other Nollywood stalwarts, urged the entertainers to support him as one of their own.
Governor Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna state had described the LP candidate as a “Nollywood actor” while urging him to focus on the industry instead of running for the presidency.
The Kaduna governor said: “Peter Obi cannot win the election, he doesn’t have the 25 percent in more than 16 states, he can’t go anywhere, Peter Obi is a Nollywood actor and that’s all he will be. This election is between the APC and PDP because they have the footprint, they have the spread.”
Speaking at the event, Peter Obi said, “A Sitting Governor called me a Nollywood actor, that’s why I gathered all of you here as my colleagues, I want you to support one of your own.
“Coming out this night shows that you are beginning to care for your country, it’s not about me, it is youths that are running for election through me, when I went to Anambra state to be governor and I said to people if I take a kobo that doesn’t belong to me or I’m not entitled to, that God should punish me and my family, because I have enough money, I have no reason to steal public money.”
He reiterated that he was contesting the elections to serve the country and not amass wealth.
“God gave me enough of what I need that if anything goes wrong today, I can live the rest of my life without doing anything. I have enough not just for myself but also for my family, we may not have for other people, but for me, I have enough.
“This election this year is critical for all of us, it’s an existential election for the youths, for the past 10 years all the country has done is to breed insecurity,” he added.
Right after the meeting, all actors present publicly endorsed their new colleague.