Labour Party’s presidential candidate Peter Obi has slammed politicians ruling Nigeria, describing them as “the worst leading.”

“This is the only country where the worst is leading. I was a trader and gradually entered into politics. When you take far more than you need, you are sick,” stated Mr Obi at a conference organised by the Revival House of International Church (RHOGIC), Abuja, on Sunday. “If we get young people with the competence and capacity to be there, things will change.” 

Mr Obi had spoken about the looting spree recorded under President Muhammadu Buhari’s regime. Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, while unsuccessfully contesting to be ruling APC presidential candidate, had vowed to continue with his principal’s legacy.

Last October, The Economist said Nigeria under Mr Buhari had become a crime scene of destructive magnitude in Africa. 

“When violence erupts, the government does nothing or cracks heads almost indiscriminately,” the paper said. It also lamented how Mr Buhari worsened the country’s economy, plunging millions into poverty.

“Economic troubles are compounded by a government that is inept and heavy-handed,” the paper said in its October 23 issue.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) recently arrested the accountant general of the federation, Ahmed Idris, for looting N80 billion.

“How do you explain that one person took N80 billion? It is not greed; it is sickness,” said Mr Obi. “When you take N1 billion, that is greed, but when you take N80 billion, that is sickness. Mad people have taken over our politics.”

The former Anambra governor urged Nigerians to take charge of the county from political leaders he described as lunatics.

“We can’t allow this gangsterism to continue. Nigerians should take back their country. Seventy per cent of those who are in politics today should not have any reason to be there. I have said it, politics in Nigeria is a case where lunatics have taken over the asylum,” Mr Obi said.