The Labour Party’s presidential candidate, Peter Obi, shed tears on national TV during his press conference in Abuja on Thursday.
Obi, who identified with young people in the build-up to the February 25 presidential election, was moved to tears while sharing his experience with a young woman earlier in the day.
It was his first media appearance since the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Wednesday morning declared Bola Tinubu of the APC winner of the election.
Obi said, “Whenever I meet a young person I want to know what that young person knows. So you see me every day talking to young people. This morning, I went somewhere with my (party) chairman and a young girl was to boil water for me to make tea.”
He said he told the girl that he would do it himself but she insisted. “She was worried and almost in tears that I lost the election,” he said.
The LP candidate further said the lady had graduated from a university in 2018 but had no job, adding that she was learning to be a baker. Obi said the lady told him that she was not making progress in the trade because she did not have N75,000 to buy an oven.
At this time, Obi dropped the microphone and whispers “that’s the life you get in Nigeria”. He then wiped his tears with a handkerchief.
The former Anambra State governor also effusively thanked his youthful followers known as ‘Obidients’, urging them not to be deterred by the outcome of the polls.
He said he and his running mate Datti Baba-Ahmed remain committed to a new Nigeria.
