MY ADDRESS TO MARK THE COMMENCEMENT OF THE 2027 PRESIDENTIAL AND NATIONAL ASSEMBLY CAMPAIGNS
21 August 2026
Dear Compatriots,
Members of the Press,
Distinguished ladies and gentlemen,
Wednesday, 19 August 2026, marked the official start of the campaign period for the 2027 Presidential and National Assembly elections.
There is no doubt that this is a defining moment for our democracy. This moment gives Nigerians the opportunity to assess the records, ideas, and plans of those seeking their mandate to lead their country at a time of grave uncertainty in our rapidly changing world.
I consider myself quite privileged to be one of those seeking your mandate to deal with these challenges facing our country.
I enter this contest with one firm conviction: Nigeria can work, and Nigeria must work.
Nigeria faces several serious challenges. Some of them are indeed of existential proportions.
According to the IMF, 63%, or over 140 million Nigerians, live at or below the national poverty line, while humanitarian agencies estimate that 35 million people will need food assistance during the 2026 lean season. About 3.6 million Nigerians remain internally displaced, largely because of conflict and insecurity. Each year, millions of young people enter the labour market, yet too many struggle to find productive opportunities. Weak infrastructure, unreliable power, insecurity, and the excessive cost of doing business continue to burden households and constrain enterprise.
These are more than statistics. They reflect the daily realities of Nigerian families, farmers, workers, students, and businesses.
Yet I do not believe Nigeria lacks the ability to overcome these challenges. We have the people, resources, market, talent, and enterprise. What we must do now is turn these strengths into security, productivity, and shared prosperity.
LEADERSHIP MUST DELIVER RESULTS
My successful private-sector experience, studies in institutions of repute on policy and business matters, and my service as Governor of Anambra State have shaped my understanding of public leadership. Government must manage resources responsibly, set clear priorities, and measure the outcomes of its decisions. Public office is not a reward; it is a responsibility to the people.
In Anambra, I prioritised the foundations of long-term development: education, healthcare, infrastructure, fiscal discipline, and institutional capacity. I do not present that record as perfect, but as an experience from which Nigerians can draw their own conclusions.
Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso brings a different but complementary governing experience.
As Governor of Kano State, he focused strongly on education, technical training, scholarships, infrastructure, and human-capital development. His administrationโs investments in education and skills showed an understanding that the people are a stateโs most important long-term resource.
Our experiences are different, but our conclusion is the same: Nigeria must invest in its people and manage public resources with discipline.
BUILDING AN ECONOMY THAT WORKS
Nigeria needs more than reactive reforms. We must focus on the questions that matter:
Are Nigerians better off than they were four years ago? Can they afford food, education, and healthcare? Can businesses produce, expand, and create jobs? Can young people find productive work? Can farmers work safely and get their produce to market?
๐จCristiano Ronaldo:
๐ฃ๏ธ Ronaldo: โSome of these players when they turn 35, 36, 37, 38, 39 upwards, theyโre fat and look unhealthy, no one can say same about me because I take care of my bodyโฆ.โ ๐ญ๐ญ
Three front runner aspirants for the office of President of the federal republicโฆ
One aspirants team is lobbying the US to review a longstanding case of money laundering and drug related offences forfeitureโฆ
The others team is responding by reminding the former of longstanding allegations/ case of briberyโฆin the US.
Both have hired lobbyists.
Third Candidate stands clear of any scandalsโฆmoney laundering, corrupt enrichment, bribery or otherwise. Has persisted in saying that any credible allegations of malfeasance while in office will result in him stepping down from the race. Has made the same challenge for years now and stillโฆcrickets.
And you say you donโt know who the best candidate is ???
My brethren in the lordโฆyour character is suspect!
My Vision for a Productive and Prosperous Nigeria
Today, being the 1st of July, 2026, I wish to humbly recall that when I decided to contest for the office of President of Nigeria, I pledged to place Nigeria on the path of unity and national transformation. Now, as the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) candidate, I will, in the coming weeks and months, provide insights into the roadmap that I am confident will help curb abuse in government, halt the decline in the quality of life of Nigerians at all levels, and usher in an era of unity, peace, sustained progress, and prosperity.
This vision is anchored on a commitment to unity, inclusion, social justice, equity, and the freedom of every citizen to pursue lawful dreams.
Central to this proposed roadmap are significant reforms in education and healthcare, which are at the core of human capital development.
Robust human capital is indispensable infrastructure for national progress. It serves as the fundamental capital upon which daily life, economic expansion, and the delivery of essential public services depend.
These are foundational areas that we must reform with energy and determination if we are to reap the demographic dividend of our youthful population.
From the outset of my presidency, we will establish a task force dedicated to drastically reducing the menace of out-of-school children. We will place greater emphasis on Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) to support our drive for massive industrialisation, anchored on our agricultural endowments and value addition across value chains organised around industrial parks to be located in development zones across the geopolitical regions of the country.
Funding and improving the equipment of TVET institutions, through partnerships among government, the private sector, and social entrepreneurs such as faith-based educators, will facilitate apprenticeship opportunities in the private sector, similar to the German dual education system.
The situation in which unemployment remains high while Nigerian entrepreneurs establish businesses elsewhere because skilled labour is scarce must be confronted decisively. Doing so is essential for the common good and for facilitating our transition from a consumption-driven economy to a production-driven one.
Character and civic education, emphasising the values that foster trust - an essential ingredient for enterprise and leadership - as well as shared national values, will receive significant attention within the tripartite approach to governance that we propose.
A New Nigeria is POssible. -PO
Owning Up to Leadership Failures and Political Responsibility
This morning, I listened to the British Prime Ministerโs speech announcing his planned resignation in July. As a keen observer of global politics, my primary interest lies in examining what successful nations do right and the structural factors that cause others to lag or struggle with governance and development.
The Prime Ministerโs planned resignation comes amid mounting public frustration over a stagnant economy, a worsening cost-of-living crisis, and a perceived failure to honour key campaign pledges.
Looking inward in our dear country, we can recall our own situation. Before 2015, our President on several occasions championed the call for the then President Goodluck Jonathan to resign over economic hardship and insecurity affecting Nigerians. During the Chibok school kidnapping incident, he demanded the immediate resignation of President Jonathan, arguing that the government had failed in its most fundamental duty of protecting lives.
During the 2023 election campaign, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu made several promises, including improved electricity supply. He also challenged the electorate not to vote for him for a second term if he failed to deliver on those commitmentsโparticularly in providing stable power, fighting corruption, and improving the welfare of Nigerians.
At present, however, these conditions have worsened. Electricity supply remains unreliable, insecurity has intensified in many areas, including kidnappings, and economic hardship has deepened rather than eased. Similar concerns are reflected across other critical sectors such as security, infrastructure, transportation, and anti-corruption efforts, all of which have regressed. We are in the worst possible condition.
I, therefore, join Nigerians of goodwill in calling for the resignation of the President over monumental failure in governance. Such a gesture would help enthrone a political culture rooted in accountability and responsibility, rather than further entrenching impunity. It would also send a powerful message that public office is a sacred trust, not an entitlement, and help build a society in which future leaders understand that failure carries consequences. Only by ending the culture of impunity can we secure a better future for the society our children will inherit in a New Nigeria that is possible. -PO
He has his flaws. And I obviously don't know much about his private life. But with what I have seen so far, this man right here should be the role model for all Nigerian youths.
The humility he has, even after accumulating all this wealth is the sort that is rarely found in our current society.
Integrity โ๏ธ
Empathy โ๏ธ
Humility โ๏ธ
He embodies all the qualities that an average Nigerian politician will never have.
2027, I will vote him again. His principles strongly align with mine. If I don't vote him, I will not have peace of mind. If he gets only one vote, then it will definitely be mine.
He bought a jet.
He bought a yacht.
He built a VPโs mansion.
He bought solar for himself.
He built mansions for judges.
He bought SUVs for lawmakers.
No mansions for doctors.
No mansions for teachers.
No mansions for our soldiers.
GO TO COURT got compensated. Everyone who can guarantee โRegime Protectionโ got something. They built mansions for those that will endorse the massive rigging in 2007.
๐จJose mourinho on Manchester United and Michael Carrick :
โAt Manchester United, the problem is not always the players, not always the resultsโit is sometimes the decisions. Too many times the club looks outside for answers, chasing big names, big reputations, but football is not about reputation, it is about understanding.
Michael Carrick understands this club. He doesnโt need time to learn what Manchester United isโhe already knows. He has been inside the dressing room, he has won everything there is to win, and he knows what the fans expect when they walk into Old Trafford.
You can bring in managers with big CVs, with big egos, but if they donโt understand the soul of the club, they will always struggle. Carrick has something you cannot teachโconnection.
So for me, it is simple: instead of making another โcleverโ decision, maybe the club should make the obvious oneโฆ and finally trust one of their own.โ
Dear @ShehuSani,
Thanks for proving me right daily that you are one of the average Nigerian elder who is an idiot.
I am from Edo State and I will go to war for Peter Obi. I know many Nigerians, who are NOT Igbo who will do the same.
You fake NADECO activists are the most despicable elders in Nigeria.
Shame on you. Go and use your loots from the senate to fix your dentition. They are horrible.
Nonsense.
๐จ Thierry Henry: "For me, speed without control is useless, but if you can ๐๐จ๐ง๐ญ๐ซ๐จ๐ฅ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐ฌ๐ฉ๐๐๐ ๐จ๐ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ ๐๐ซ๐๐ข๐ง then you're going to be ๐๐๐ฌ๐ญ๐๐ซ ๐ญ๐ก๐๐ง ๐๐ง๐ฒ๐จ๐ง๐ on the fieldโ.
"He doesn't play football, ๐ก๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐ข๐ง๐ค๐ฌ ๐ข๐ญ. My name for him now - and you guys are going to love it - is '๐๐๐๐๐๐' ๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐!" ๐๐ง
"What he's been doing at Man Utd in some difficult moments for the team is outstanding. You have to give him a lot of credit - ๐ก๐ ๐๐จ๐ฎ๐ฅ๐ ๐ก๐๐ฏ๐ ๐ฐ๐๐ฅ๐ค๐๐ ๐๐ฐ๐๐ฒ. He ๐ฌ๐ญ๐๐ฒ๐๐, he's fighting every single time. I love himโ. ๐ต๐นโค๏ธ
There is a reason itโs YOUR VISION, people will not see it no matter how hard you try to make them see and thatโs ok. Manifest it then they remember how you used to talk about it.