Former Anambra State governor and presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Party, Peter Obi, has formally commenced his campaign for the 2027 presidential election, urging other contenders to face Nigerians directly and explain their records, policies and capacity to govern.
Obi made the call on Friday during a press conference at his Onitsha residence to mark the beginning of his campaign for the presidential and National Assembly elections.
He said presidential candidates should engage voters personally instead of relying on representatives, stressing that Nigerians had the right to scrutinise their credentials and plans for the country.
He said, “No candidate should hide behind the high walls of power, send proxies or surrogates to the hustings, and expect Nigerians to entrust them with the leadership of the country.
“Every candidate seeking the presidency must have the courage to come before the people, answer their questions, defend their records, and subject their vision to public scrutiny.
“Leadership Requires Presence and Empathy. Genuine leadership required physical presence and empathy, a presidential candidate would not effectively lead communities without understanding their circumstances.
“True leadership requires presence and empathy. No one can lead from the front without standing with communities across Nigeria devastated by banditry, criminality, terrorism, and flooding.
“You cannot truly lead people you are unwilling to visit, listen to, and understand.”
Obi, who is contesting alongside his running mate, Senator Rabiu Kwankwaso, said the duo would personally tour the country to interact with voters and hear their concerns.
He maintained that they would not hand over their campaign responsibilities to proxies, saying the 2027 election would provide Nigerians with an opportunity to assess the track records, ideas and programmes of those seeking the presidency.
According to him, Nigeria is confronted by several challenges, including poverty, food insecurity, unemployment, internal displacement, inadequate infrastructure, unreliable power supply, insecurity and the high cost of doing business.
He nevertheless expressed optimism that the country could overcome its difficulties, citing its large population, resources, market, talent and entrepreneurial capacity as assets capable of supporting a prosperous economy.
Obi said his administration would seek to move the economy away from excessive dependence on consumption and toward production, investment, enterprise and human-capital development.
“Nigeria cannot import its way to prosperity. We will produce more of what we consume, process more of what we produce, and compete more effectively in global markets.
“I promised to prioritise agriculture, manufacturing, technology, construction, energy, creative industries and services, while creating an environment in which businesses could invest, employ workers and expand without unnecessary regulatory and infrastructure constraints.
“I pledged to strengthen agriculture through improved security, irrigation, rural roads, storage facilities, access to finance and markets, while promoting manufacturing and agro-processing,” he added.
On public spending, Obi said government expenditure must be tied to clearly defined objectives, while major infrastructure and other public investments should deliver measurable results.
He also described insecurity as a serious impediment to economic growth, arguing that development would remain difficult if Nigerians could not safely farm, travel, trade or operate businesses.
He proposed better intelligence gathering, closer coordination among security agencies, stronger policing and border control, increased deployment of technology and lawful community-based mechanisms for detecting threats.
“We will improve basic education, strengthen universities, and expand technical and vocational training,” he said.
Obi also promised greater attention to healthcare, including maternal and child health, access to essential medicines and improved working conditions and equipment for health workers.
He said poor health outcomes continued to undermine human-capital development and economic productivity.
The former Anambra governor further outlined development priorities for the country’s various regions, saying each should maximise its comparative advantages while contributing to national economic growth.
“The North-Central could strengthen food production and processing while responsibly developing its mineral resources. Manufacturing, technology, finance, trade and the creative economy are the areas of strength for the South-West, while the South-East could build on its entrepreneurial and industrial base through better infrastructure, connectivity and access to investment.
“For the South-South, oil and gas, maritime services, fisheries and agriculture are areas with potential for greater value creation, alongside stronger environmental protection.
“Every region must produce. Every region must contribute. Every region must benefit,” he added.
Obi urged Nigerians to interrogate the records and manifestos of all presidential contenders, ask difficult questions and demand evidence to support campaign promises.
He also appealed to political parties and their supporters to conduct issue-based campaigns without resorting to hatred, violence, ethnicity or religious sentiments, while urging all sides to accept the outcome of the 2027 election.
“Our campaign will focus on the urgent concerns of Nigerians and not on ethnicity or religion.
“Nigerians must reject and disregard any campaign driven by propaganda, ethnicity, religion, elitism, or cronyism.
“My ultimate objective is to unite the country, defeat insecurity, reduce poverty and hunger, tackle the problem of out-of-school children, improve education and healthcare and create an economy that works for all Nigerians.
“The campaign will mark the beginning of a journey to reset Nigeria by uniting the country, securing it and placing it on the path of inclusive economic growth. A New Nigeria is possible,” Obi declared.
