Nigeria at 66: Obi promises productive economy, accountable government

Nigeria Democratic Congress presidential candidate Peter Obi has pledged to make governance measurable and accountable if elected president in 2027, promising Nigerians tangible results within his first year in office.

In his Independence Day address on Thursday, Obi said security, education, healthcare and productive enterprise would be among the priorities of his administration. His remarks were reported consistently across multiple accounts of the address.

The former Anambra State governor said Nigeria’s difficulties were not caused by a lack of human or natural resources, but by what he described as the country’s failure to translate those resources into development, productivity, security and shared prosperity.

Obi promised decisive action against insecurity, saying improved security would allow farmers to return to their farms, children to attend school and businesses to operate without fear.

He also pledged to support the safe return of Nigerians displaced by insecurity to their communities.

The NDC candidate said his economic programme would seek to move Nigeria away from what he described as a consumption-driven economy towards greater production, with emphasis on agriculture, manufacturing, job creation and investment in human capital.

Obi referred to a recent two-day visit to Sokoto State with Senator Rabiu Kwankwaso, during which they visited an internally displaced persons camp at Ramin Kura.

He said conditions at the camp reflected wider challenges facing Nigerians, including poverty, insecurity, unemployment, inadequate healthcare and the large number of children outside school.

Obi also promised to spend his holidays within Nigeria if elected, saying he would use the periods to visit different states and interact with citizens rather than travel abroad. He specifically mentioned Zamfara, Borno, Kwara, Ebonyi, Edo and Ekiti among states he could visit.

He said his proposed administration would seek to build a secure, united and productive country in which public resources were used for the public good.

Obi urged Nigerians to demand accountability from political leaders, arguing that national