The presidential candidate of the People’s Redemption Party, PRP, for the 2027 general election, Donald Duke, has called for urgent and comprehensive reforms to address Nigeria’s worsening insecurity, revitalise agriculture, rebuild critical infrastructure and strengthen the education and healthcare systems.

He also called for the creation of a more business-friendly environment capable of driving sustainable economic growth.

The former Cross River State governor, who recently emerged as the PRP’s presidential flag bearer amid legal disputes surrounding the party’s primary, said Nigeria was currently grappling with a combination of weak governance, ineffective leadership and a stagnant economy.

He argued that the opposition must unite to present Nigerians with a credible alternative capable of addressing the nation’s pressing challenges.

He warned that unless the country’s current trajectory is decisively reversed, Nigeria risks sliding further into a severe social and economic crisis.

Speaking during an interview, Duke said his decision to return to frontline politics was driven by what he described as the urgency of Nigeria’s situation.

“The direction the country is going requires very urgent intervention. Another four years, if we don’t change the trajectory, I see disasters where it is already looming. It will deepen further,” he said, adding that the political class must rise above personal ambitions to chart a new national direction.

Duke maintained that Nigeria’s economy has failed to grow in line with its rapidly expanding population, attributing the rise in insecurity across the country to decades of poor governance.

According to him, insurgency, banditry, and kidnapping are symptoms of economic dysfunction, stressing that government must prioritise productive investment, affordable credit, improved security, and policies that enable citizens to generate wealth.

Reflecting on his tenure as governor of Cross River State, Duke said his administration deliberately focused on agriculture and tourism after identifying the state’s comparative advantages.

alone, while investments in the Obudu Ranch transformed the area into a thriving tourism destination that created jobs and stimulated economic activity.

“Every state in Nigeria has something to sell,” he said, emphasising that development should be driven by each state’s unique strengths. (Vanguard, excluding headline)

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