Obi clinches NDC ticket, plans to combat corruption

Peter Obi, former Governor of Anambra State, has declared that his administration will aggressively combat systemic corruption and curb fiscal profligacy in Nigeria if elected president in 2027.

Obi made the commitment shortly after emerging as the 2027 presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) during the party’s national convention held in Abuja on Saturday.

The development marks a significant political pivot for the 2023 Labour Party (LP) presidential candidate, who had earlier pledged to serve only a single four-year term if elected to power. Obi maintained that his administration would utilise this single-term window to eliminate structural wastage in public spending through a deliberate, top-down reduction in the cost of governance.

According to the newly minted candidate, public resources currently expended on state luxuries will be aggressively redirected toward critical, productive sectors of the economy.

“We will drastically reduce the cost of governance and corruption. This waste must stop,” Obi stated, arguing that national corruption can only be mitigated if public officials and their families refrain from abusing state assets.

Rule of law as an economic catalyst

Central to Obi’s policy framework is a commitment to upholding the rule of law and insulating the judiciary from executive interference. He noted that ensuring court judgements are based strictly on objective legal interpretation is a critical prerequisite for attracting foreign direct investment and restoring international confidence in Nigeria’s public institutions.

“We need the law to work because that is what will attract investment for us. We need people to be sure that when they go to court, the judgement will be an interpretation of the law,” Obi remarked.

To validate his stance, he cited his tenure as Anambra State Governor, recalling how he successfully litigated complex electoral and tenure disputes through the courts without compromising judicial officers or offering bribes. He maintained that his landmark victories at various levels of the judiciary, including the Supreme Court, reinforced his conviction that institutional integrity remains the bedrock of a functional democracy.

Democratic reforms and opposition protection

Beyond economic and judicial restructuring, Obi called for comprehensive reforms to strengthen Nigeria’s democratic framework, insisting that governance must genuinely reflect the popular will. He argued that the current political climate has become increasingly hostile, accusing the incumbent administration of actively suppressing opposition parties through state-backed harassment and the denial of public venues for political assembly.

The candidate revealed that the NDC encountered severe logistics hurdles while securing a venue for its national convention, alleging that the party was turned down at multiple locations before finding a host site. “Opposition parties are being treated like criminals, harassed and intimidated,” he alleged, claiming that several political organizations have had their lawful activities disrupted by security agencies.

Concluding his address, Obi promised that an NDC-led presidency would institutionalise political pluralism and guarantee a safe operational environment for dissenting voices. He emphasised that robust opposition is not a threat to security, but a vital characteristic of a healthy democratic ecosystem.