Abia Deputy Governor Presents Chibuzo Okereke Labour Party Presidential Certificate of Return As He Unveils ‘Believe Again’ Vision For Nigeri
The Labour Party on Thursday, 11th June 2026, formally presented Dr Chibuzo Okereke with his Certificate of Return as the party’s presidential candidate for the 2027 general elections, at a hybrid meeting of the National Executive Committee held at the party’s national headquarters, No. 2 IBM Haruna Street, Utako, Abuja.
The certificate was presented to Dr Okereke by the Abia State Deputy Governor, Ikechukwu Emetu, who represented Governor Alex Otti, the National Leader of the Labour Party, at the high powered NEC meeting. Otti, through his deputy, used the occasion to call for unity and reconciliation within the party, warning that internal divisions could threaten the party’s chances ahead of 2027, even as the NEC went ahead to ratify a total of 1,211 candidates for various elective positions across the federation, with Okereke’s name topping the list.
Receiving the certificate, an emotional Okereke thanked the leadership of the Labour Party, particularly Otti, whom he described as a mentor and a model of people centred leadership ready to be extrapolated to the national stage. He also expressed appreciation to the National Chairman, Senator Nenadi Usman, members of the National Working Committee, the Nigeria Labour Congress, the Trade Union Congress, and millions of party members across Nigeria and in the diaspora, before unveiling his Nigerians First, Believe Again vision and a five point Great Reset National Recovery Blueprint covering national security, the economy, education and healthcare, institutional reform, and national unity.
Below is the full text of his acceptance speech.
Let me begin with two important words that rise from the depth of my heart at this historic moment, thank you. I thank the leadership of our great party for the confidence reposed in me. Particularly, I thank our dear National Leader, His Excellency Dr Alex Chioma Otti, OFR, for mentoring, inspiring and preparing me for this responsibility. In His Excellency Dr Otti, we have a people centric leadership template, a guide and model ready to be extrapolated to the national stage to drive sustainable development for Nigeria. I thank our dear National Chairman, Distinguished Senator Nenadi Usman, the National Secretary, members of the NWC both past and present, members of NEC, millions of our party members across Nigeria and in the diaspora. I also extend deep appreciation to the leadership of the Nigeria Labour Congress, the Trade Union Congress of Nigeria, and all the stakeholders of our great party for this rare opportunity to be our party’s standard bearer for the presidency of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. I therefore, with gratitude, readiness to provide visionary leadership, and a full understanding of the weight of this responsibility, accept my nomination as the presidential candidate of the Labour Party for the 2027 general elections.
Dear party members, my fellow Nigerians, the Labour Party is the party of first choice. It is also the only political party in Nigeria with institutional membership and the party for and by Nigerian workers, ordinary citizens, artisans, market women, farmers, students, women, persons with disabilities, intellectuals, professionals and experts. The Labour Party remains the only party that constitutionally offers automatic membership to all Nigerian workers, including civil society groups, social justice advocates and human rights champions, among many others. The implication is that in Nigeria, we are all Labour. As we all know, labour is the principal factor of production in any economy. It is the factor that directs the mix of other factors to achieve a productive economy. In fact, the push and pull elements of Nigeria’s developmental rollback is that we have spent more energy and resources in pursuit of all other factors while paying less attention to the principal factor of labour, which is human capital investment and development.
The Labour Party is the home of democratic socialism, anchored on the principles of equal opportunity and social justice and aligned with the solemn prescriptions of the Fundamental Objectives and Directive Principles of State Policy contained in Chapter Two of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999, as amended. Our ideology is to build a home grown, culturally responsible social democratic state where industry, enterprise and work form the basis of economic empowerment, and where governance, economic growth and social development result in the advancement and dignity of the human person. This is why our logo is centred on human beings, the people and the family, papa, mama and pikin, which remains the cradle of human development.
The vision of my presidency is Nigerians first, not Nigeria first. I am on a mission to make Nigerians believe again in the limitless possibilities and shared prosperity of our great country, Nigeria. It is going to be the greatest positive reset ever witnessed in the history of the Nigerian state. Our Nigerians First, Believe Again vision is premised on the fact that Nigeria exists because Nigerians exist. The purpose of the state is to serve its people. Globally, nations are built by citizens. Strong and patriotic citizens build strong institutions, and strong institutions build strong nations. For decades, governments focused their energy on how to protect the Nigerian state, how to preserve power and how to manage political interests. However, our Nigerians First vision offers a fundamental philosophical shift in our theory of nationhood and focuses on developing Nigerians, securing Nigerians, expanding socio economic opportunities, restoring the dignity of our people, building trust among citizens, and investing in the Sustainable Development Goals. We are convinced that when Nigerians prosper, Nigeria prospers.
Our presidency will put people and governance first before politics. We understand that politics is not the purpose of government, governance is the real purpose of government. Nigerian citizens will become partners in nation building rather than spectators. No Nigerian citizen under our watch will ever again live as though there is no government.
Nigeria suffers not only from economic, security and institutional challenges but also from a crisis of confidence. The truth is that millions of Nigerians no longer believe in the promise of this land. Millions no longer believe that government can work, that institutions can be trusted, that merit can prevail, that the future can be better than the past, or that the prospect of an equitable and fair opportunity for all is still possible. Our Believe Again mantra is therefore not merely a campaign appeal, it is a stirring call for national renewal through responsible government actions. For too long, governance has focused on Nigeria as an abstract entity, classically described by the late political sage as a mere geographical expression, while neglecting the Nigerians whose lives give meaning to the nation.
Our nation’s greatest asset is not its oil, land, minerals or government buildings. Our greatest asset is our people and our population. Nigerian government and democracy must therefore deliver happiness to the people of Nigeria wherever they may be, and under our presidency, this will be delivered. Nation building through responsible government is not rocket science. When citizens are educated, healthy, secure, productive and empowered, the nation prospers. Similarly, when citizens are neglected, divided and excluded, the nation weakens. The Nigerians First agenda places people at the centre of governance. We will build a government that measures success not by political victories but by improvements in the lives of ordinary Nigerians, both at home and abroad. Our presidency’s governance principles are commitment to governance before politics, service before power, institutions before personalities, and national development before partisan interests.
Dear party members, fellow Nigerians, our country is going through one of the most difficult periods since the return to democratic rule in 1999. Across the federation today, millions of citizens are burdened by rising costs of living, insecurity, high infant and maternal mortality, unemployment, declining purchasing power, infrastructure financing gaps, power and energy deficiencies, growing numbers of out of school children, struggling businesses and families, and declining public trust in government institutions. These are real problems, but they also present real opportunities for innovative solutions and investments. This is why we have chosen not to lament but to rise to leadership. Where we are as a country calls for collective patriotism that must be led by the government, and the people will follow, not blame games.
The Labour Party has a practical and measurable Nigerians First Great Reset National Recovery Blueprint anchored on key fundamental priorities. The first is national security and unity. Our goal is clear, to restore public confidence that the Nigerian state is capable of protecting lives and property across every part of the federation. We will adopt a practical and sincere whole of society approach. We will rebuild our military and restore the pride and glory of our land.
The second priority is economic stabilisation, food security and productive growth. We will pursue a variable mix that confronts the structural challenges limiting investment and sustainable enterprise growth, including power and energy bankruptcy, regulatory uncertainty, infrastructure deficits and policy inconsistency. The national power grid will be completely democratised and decentralised, with the Abia State model providing an example to extrapolate. We will sit with individual states and zones, not to discuss politics, but to implement strategic investments based on their areas of resource competence and competitive advantage.
The third priority is education, human capital development and access to quality healthcare. The sustainable and shared prosperity of Nigeria will depend largely on the quality of its human capital. We cannot compete in a rapidly changing global economy while millions of children remain out of school and our educational institutions continue to deteriorate. Our administration will prioritise foundational education, technical skills, digital literacy, research capacity and curriculum reforms aligned with modern economic realities. We must prepare Nigerian youths not merely to seek jobs, but to create value within a globally competitive economy.
The fourth priority is institutional reform, infrastructure and good governance. Nigeria cannot continue to operate with twenty first century expectations using weakened public institutions. We must strengthen transparency, improve regulatory efficiency, digitise public services, reduce waste in governance, and restore merit, professionalism and accountability within the public sector. Our budget and infrastructure development will be guided by an implementable development plan owned by the people of Nigeria. You do not need to be a political ally before your state or community experiences federal government presence. It will be an integrated governance model where the federal, state and local governments collaborate to serve the people. Under our presidency, before we buy a new vehicle, we must ask whether there is still a pupil who needs books or a teacher who has not been equipped to teach.
Special advisers will not take over the responsibilities of substantive directors in our ministries, departments and agencies, or constitute themselves into procurement units. Our job creation and youth development policy will restore merit in the system. Once again in Nigeria, all ministries, departments and agencies will be required to publish vacancies on their websites and in local newspapers, write to churches and mosques to publicise opportunities, and ensure that recruitment processes are strictly merit based.
We will repeal and re enact the Procurement Act, strengthen the Fiscal Responsibility Act, and carry out a complete reset of our budget process, with zero based budgeting to be introduced. We will establish Nigeria Government Accountability Offices across all ministries, departments and agencies, manned by officers from the ICPC and EFCC who will work closely with the internal audit, finance and accounts, procurement and legal departments. These offices will be coordinated directly from the presidency and replicated through collaboration with states and local governments.
We will repeal the Universal Basic Education Commission Act and transfer its assets and funds to local governments across Nigeria, because nobody can sit in Abuja and effectively implement basic education in communities and villages. Likewise, we will repeal the National Primary Health Care Development Agency Act and transfer its assets and funds to local governments across Nigeria, because we cannot continue to attempt universal healthcare coverage and health insurance implementation from the centre. Policy and research institutions that have become mere procurement, project and programme outlets will be reviewed, restructured or transferred closer to the grassroots where our people live and work, and agricultural research institutions that have no proximate relationship to their raw material base and have failed to demonstrate measurable national impact will be reviewed and repositioned.
The NYSC scheme will be made optional, except for graduates of STEM disciplines and a few others. All other graduates will undertake a three month National Community Development Project and, upon completion, receive their NYSC discharge certificate. This will save Nigeria billions of naira, and the scheme must also become a major recruitment gateway into the military, police, defence and intelligence services.
The fifth priority is national unity and social cohesion. Our diversity should be a strategic advantage, not a source of perpetual political tension. We must consciously rebuild trust across regions, ethnicities, religions and generations. Leadership must stop exploiting divisions for political convenience and instead build consensus around shared national objectives. No region of Nigeria can prosper sustainably in isolation from the rest of the federation. We will enact a National Day of Peace and Forgiveness Law to commence the national healing process, peace building and community spirit, transfer the National Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution to the Federal Ministry of Interior and make it effective, and strengthen programmes that promote national integration, reconciliation and social cohesion. We will also reconstitute the National Orientation Agency into a National Government Care Agency, among others.
Dear party leaders, my fellow Nigerians, to our dear soldiers and all members of the defence, security and intelligence community who still feel abandoned in the forests of Sambisa, wondering why you are still fighting for a country that appears not to care, I ask you to believe again. Young Nigerians leaving the country in droves under the Japa syndrome, which has caused tremendous brain drain in the health and education sectors, you may have concluded that there is no hope or opportunity for you in Nigeria, but I ask you to believe again in the promise of this land. Our farmers, artisans, motorists, industrialists and investors who still wonder whether the green white green that adorns our national flag still represents agriculture, wealth, peace and unity, I ask you to believe again. Our pensioners, retired servicemen and servicewomen who struggle to receive retirement benefits and sometimes pay the ultimate price in the process, I ask you to believe again in a Nigeria that cares. Our women who have been grossly underrepresented in parliaments and key policy institutions for decades, I ask you to believe again. Our university professors who still wonder why councillors receive more in salaries and allowances than university professors, I ask you to believe again. The young graduate, innovator, inventor and entrepreneur who face the realities of a broken society and wonder whether there is a place for them in Nigeria, I ask you to believe again. Our citizens who still wonder whether there is any need to perform their civic duty of voting because they have lost confidence in the electoral process, I ask you to believe again.
Believe again, in the promise of Nigeria and in the limitless possibilities of our greatness. Thank you. God bless you, and may God bless the great Federal Republic of Nigeria.
Dr Chibuzo Okereke, 2027 Labour Party Presidential Candidate, Federal Republic of Nigeria, Abuja, June 11, 2026.
With his Certificate of Return now firmly in hand, the countdown to 2027 has officially begun for Dr Chibuzo Okereke and the Labour Party.
