At a town hall meeting in Umuahia, Abia State on Friday, Obi said he was not running for president because it was his turn but because "Nigerians must take back their country from the few who are holding onto it by the jugular."

He pledged to change the country's course and do things differently if he were elected president.

“We are going to build a new Nigeria. Yes, a new Nigeria is possible and that’s why I’m in the race.

I will build a new Nigeria where we shall all be proud of the green passport. I will build a new Nigeria where we shall move from consumption to production”, he said.

The former Governor of Anambra State lamented the fact that both major political parties, the ruling All Progressives Congress and the main opposition, Peoples Democratic Party have overseen Nigeria’s deterioration.

He urged Nigerians to reject both major parties at the forthcoming elections, and vote for Labour as a way of improving their country.

According to him, “APC has given us insecurity and hunger, fuel scarcity and ASUU strike. No state in Nigeria is safe again. If given the opportunity, I will restructure the entire security architecture of Nigeria to provide security for all citizens.

“We have voted for the umbrella but we didn’t get any protection. We voted for the broom but it has swept us into poverty and hardship. All we got from APC and PDP are hunger and suffering.

“Now, it’s time to vote for the father, mother and children (LP logo). What we need now is the family so that we can recover from our fallen state.”

The president vowed not to discriminate against any part of the country, saying that tribalism and injustice would no longer be tolerated.

He predicted that he would win the election by a landslide, because most Nigerians saw him as competent and liked his national appeal.

“I’m not going to win because I’m from South East but because I’m competent and ready to build a new Nigeria. I’m prepared to lead Nigeria out of poverty to greatness. I have done it before in Anambra, I will replicate the feat in the entire country if you give me a chance”, he said.

In his speech, Obi promised to end incessant strikes by university staff and said that under his watch Nigeria would be restructured so that it works for the citizens. He also promised to transform Aba into a renowned industrial hub in Africa.

He said, “I visited Aba in the morning and I saw that we have over 60,000 shoemakers in Aba. Industrial activities going on in Aba will be properly harnessed. Give me two years and Aba and Port Harcourt will join together. I’m not going to change the name but both towns will be so developed that they will become one City, and people won’t know the difference between them again.”

Obi also pledged to take advantage of the immense amount of fertile land in Northern Nigeria and make the country self-sufficient when it comes to food production.

“The biggest asset in Nigeria is the uncultivated land in the North yet we can’t feed ourselves. The Netherlands has a smaller landmass with a lesser human population but it is an agricultural giant”

He also noted that with visionary and competent leadership in place, Nigeria could stop borrowing so much money.