Victor Ezeja
Presidential candidate of Labour Party, Mr. Peter Obi has been conferred with the Honorary Citizenship of Dallas City, Texas in the United States of America.
This was conferred on him by the Mayor of Dallas, Eric Lynn Johnson at an event held in the Dallas City Hall on Tuesday, October 4.
Speaking at the event, Mayor Johnson congratulated Obi and said that having been conferred with the honourary citizenship, he shall hold a place of high esteem in the minds of the people of the City.
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“Without a piece of doubt, with this conferment, you shall hold a place of high esteem in the minds and hearts of the people of this great city (Dallas). Congratulations!,” he declared.
The elated Mayor who announced that his DNA test has confirmed he is a Nigerian, wrote on his verified Twitter handle saying “Today, I had the pleasure of welcoming The Honorable Peter Obi — the former Governor of Anambra, Nigeria — to Dallas City Hall.
“I proclaimed him to be an Honorary Citizen of Dallas, and I look forward to welcoming him back to our city in the years to come.”
Reacting to the gesture, Obi in a post on his official Twitter handle on Wednesday morning, said he had the privilege of being given the honour and appreciated the Mayor and the judges.
“Today in Dallas Texas United States, I met with the Mayor of Dallas and his team. I had the privilege of being conferred with the honorary citizenship of Dallas. I also met with a select group of Texas Judges,” Obi tweeted.
Photos of the event
The former Anambra governor said he also met with some select groups including Nigerians in diaspora resident in Dallas, Texas.
On his meeting with the Nigerians in Diaspora, Obi said “We discussed the state of the Nigerian economy and I shared with them the strategies I hope to deploy in solving the myriad of problems our country faces.”
Obi who thanked the Nigerians in Dallas City for inviting him to the event, said the diaspora communities are increasingly becoming part of the foreign relations architecture, adding “I want to assure you that I consider the Nigeria Diaspora an invaluable national asset.”
He stated that expert assessment of diaspora remittances to Nigeria has shown that it has surpassed oil revenue for some years now, hovering between 3.8 to 6.1 percent of the country’s GDP, hence, the need to improve on the present ranking of 6th position in the world which puts the figure at $20 billion in 2021 for the country.
He added that “Nigeria Diaspora remittances now augment and support education, promote entrepreneurship and stimulate businesses, and investments in healthcare in addition to foreign remittances.”
Victor Ezeja is a passionate journalist with seven years of experience writing on economy, politics and energy. He holds a Master's degree in Mass Communication.
