The African Director, International Association of World Peace Advocates, IAWPA, Dr. John Metchie, has called on the main opposition political leaders, Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Peter Obi of the Labour Party (LP) as well as all Nigerians, to heed the call by President Asiwaju Bola Tinubu to put political differences behind and join hands with him to built a united and prosperous nation.

Metchie who is also the Prime Minister of Anambra State Association of Town Unions (ASATU) made the call in Nairobi Kenya, where he is attending a four-day UN-Habitat Assembly programme on Environment, said the call by Tinubu for national healing, as contained in the President’s inaugural speech was timely and testifies to his humility and genuine concern and commitment to the good of Nigeria and her people.

Metchie said he was sure that most Nigerians have not taken time to go through the President’s inaugural speech because it was muffled by the controversies surrounding the oil subsidy removal which he said had dominated national discourse for the past two weeks.

Quoting former United States’ president, Barack Obama, Metchie said there is a time for politics and a time for nation-building, adding that President Tinubu also made a clear demarcation between the two in his inaugural speech and specifically acknowledged that becoming the president does not make him superior or a better Nigerian than opposition leaders and other citizens.

Chief Metchie, the President General of Umueri community of Anambra State who is also the Deputy Commander General of the Nigerian Hunters and Forest Security Service (NHFSS) in charge of Technical Services, quoted Tinubu who said that- “However, my victory does not render me any more Nigerian than my opponents. Nor does it render them any less patriotic. They shall forever be my fellow compatriots. And I will treat them as such. They represent important constituencies and concerns that wisdom dare not ignore. They have taken their concerns to court. Seeking legal redress is their right and I fully defend their exercise of this right. This is the essence of the rule of law.”

He said that Tinubu by the statement has once again justified himself as a true democrat by standing on his age-long conviction in the rule of law and confidence in the nation’s judicial system.

He said that the guiding principles of Tinubu administration, as contained in his inaugural speech clearly show that the President was determined to deviate positively from the way things were done in the past and therefore said the President needs all hands on deck to build new Nigeria of our dream.

Metchie said- “Among other inspiring parts of the President’s speech, my hope in a better Nigeria was rekindled with the guiding principles of the Tinubu administration which are that – “Nigeria will be impartially governed according to the constitution and the rule of law; “We shall defend the nation from terror and all forms of criminality that threaten the peace and stability of our country and our sub region;” “We shall remodel our economy to bring about growth and development through job creation, food security and an end of extreme poverty;” “In our administration, Women and youth will feature prominently;” “Our government will continue to take proactive steps such as championing a credit culture to discourage corruption while strengthening the effectiveness and efficiency of the various anti-corruption agencies.”

The IAWPA’s African Director therefore urged leaders of opposition and all Nigerians to take few minutes and read President Tinubu’s inaugural speech without prejudice and political colouration, but with open mind, as according to him, the speech represents hope, unity and progress of Nigeria.

Earlier in the week at the UN-Habitat events, Metchie had called on the global community to come to the rescue of Anambra state which he said is being ravaged by gully erosion and other environmental challenges.

Only yesterday, Wednesday, June 7, 2023, the IAWPA African Director, decorated the Nigerian High Commissioner to Kenya, H.E Yusuf Yunusa with the Eminent Peace Ambassador Award.