The presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), Peter Obi, has disclosed that he visited the Anambra Correctional Centre to encourage inmates to better themselves through education and the acquisition of relevant skills.
Obi stated this after visiting the correctional facility in Amawbia on Friday.
According to the former Anambra governor, imprisonment does not mark the end of a purposeful life.
He encouraged the inmates to view their current circumstances as an opportunity for personal reform, renewal, and preparation to rejoin society as responsible citizens who could contribute meaningfully to national development.
He said, “History shows that confinement does not always mark the end of a meaningful life,” he said. “Nelson Mandela, jailed for 27 years, emerged to lead South Africa and inspire the world; Malcolm X transformed himself in prison into one of the most influential voices of the civil rights movement; Martha Stewart, after serving a prison sentence, rebuilt her brand and returned to the heights of global business; and Frank Abagnale, once imprisoned for fraud, went on to work with the FBI and became a respected security consultant. These lives remind us that with reform, education, and opportunity, confinement can give way to contribution.”
It will be recalled that inmates in correctional centres across the state had earlier sent an emissary to Obi, appealing for assistance due to their inability to pay NECO examination fees. In response, Obi gave an undertaking to NECO to allow the inmates to sit for the examinations, a commitment he has now fully honoured.
On the occasion, it was revealed that the total payment, covering NECO examination fees and logistics for all eligible candidates across the four correctional centres in Anambra State, amounted to ₦4,741,400.
