The Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) has affirmed Peter Obi, former governor of Anambra, as its presidential candidate for the 2027 elections.
Victor Umeh, senator representing Anambra central, announced Obi as the party’s flagbearer at the NDC convention held in Abuja on Saturday.
After securing the party’s ticket, Obi said his administration would confront Nigeria’s security, education and economic challenges through policies aimed at boosting production, expanding electricity supply, creating jobs and reducing corruption.
The former Anambra governor said Nigeria has the capacity to become a leading rice-producing nation, noting that despite having vast arable land, the country’s rice output remains far below that of countries such as India, Bangladesh and Vietnam.
According to him, his government would prioritise production over consumption and position Nigeria as a rice-exporting nation.
“We should be exporting rice. I maintain that we can make more money from the vast land in the North than we make from oil,” he said.
On power, Obi described Nigeria’s electricity situation as unacceptable, saying about 100 million citizens lack access to electricity while the country generates and distributes only about 4,000 megawatts.
He said countries such as South Africa and Egypt, despite having much smaller populations, generate more than 40,000 megawatts each.
Obi pledged to increase electricity generation and distribution to at least 10,000 megawatts within four years.
“I pledge on behalf of our government that in four years, this country will generate and distribute at least 10,000 megawatts from the 4,000 that we have today,” he said.
The NDC presidential candidate also challenged Nigeria’s official unemployment rate of four percent, arguing that unemployment and underemployment remain above 30 percent, while youth unemployment exceeds 40 percent.
He said his administration would tackle joblessness by supporting micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) through tax incentives, favourable policies and access to affordable credit.
Citing Indonesia as an example, Obi said small businesses account for more than 90 percent of employment because entrepreneurs have access to low-interest loans.
He said his government would create a similar environment in Nigeria to stimulate business growth and job creation.
Obi also promised to cut the cost of governance and curb corruption, arguing that resources currently spent on luxury and waste should be redirected to critical sectors of the economy.
“We will drastically reduce the cost of governance and corruption. This waste must stop,” he said.
He further pledged to run a transparent administration, saying corruption would decline significantly if public officials and their families stopped abusing public resources.
