The Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) candidate for Ogoja/Yala Federal Constituency in the 2027 elections, Peter Akah, has described the party’s presidential candidate, Peter Obi, and his running mate, Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, as the most qualified duo to lead Nigeria out of its current challenges.

Akah said the Obi-Kwankwaso ticket represented an opportunity to address what he described as the country’s leadership, accountability and governance crises.

The House of Representatives candidate made the remarks in an interview while discussing his candidacy, the 2027 elections and the political situation in the country.

According to him, Obi and Kwankwaso had demonstrated competence and prudent management of resources during their respective tenures as governors of Anambra and Kano states.

“Peter Obi and Rabiu Kwankwaso present not just a ticket of competence, but an opportunity for Nigeria to begin the healing and stop the bleeding. Two men who are competent in their own rights,” he said.

Akah said Nigeria’s major challenge was not a lack of resources but corruption and poor accountability, arguing that the country’s resources had been diverted by individuals in positions of authority.

He said the NDC presidential ticket would offer Nigerians an alternative to what he described as the current pattern of governance.

“Let this country feel the semblance of having human beings as leaders and not this line of rascality we call leadership or governance in this country. We say enough in 2027,” he said.

The NDC candidate also criticised the recent freezing of Osun State Government accounts by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), describing the action as an attempt to undermine the electoral process ahead of the state’s governorship election.

Akah questioned the timing of the EFCC’s action, arguing that similar investigations should be conducted across states if the objective was to scrutinise the movement of government funds.

“An EFCC cannot wake up one morning and decide to freeze the account of a state government a few days to an election in the guise of so-called investigation,” he said.

He warned that actions by government institutions capable of affecting electoral outcomes could undermine public confidence in the democratic process.

According to him, the Osun election would serve as a test of Nigeria’s commitment to credible elections ahead of the 2027 general elections.

“If elections in Osun are rigged, it will be partly because of the actions of this institution. We must reject institutional election rigging where institutions of government have become law enforcement agencies and see themselves as personal police of the president,” he said.

Akah urged Nigerians to defend their votes, stressing that the country should not be allowed to become a one-party state.

“Tinubu must know that we will never be a one-party state. In 2027, he will conduct elections that will send him out of Aso Rock,” he said.

On education, the NDC candidate linked the country’s high number of out-of-school children to what he described as inadequate attention to education by successive administrations.

He claimed that Nigeria had more than 18 million out-of-school children and argued that competent leadership was required to reverse the trend.

Akah also criticised the Federal Government’s performance under President Bola Tinubu, alleging that the administration had worsened the country’s economic and security challenges.

“Nigeria needs a hard reset,” he said. “If you look at the government we have today, it did not take Tinubu up to three years to destroy the entire country.”

He alleged that Nigerians were experiencing increasing poverty, hunger, insecurity and economic hardship, while government officials continued to describe the administration’s policies as reforms.

The NDC candidate further identified electoral reform as a critical requirement for Nigeria’s political development, arguing that politicians would continue to act without accountability as long as they believed they could manipulate elections.

“The absolute problem with Nigeria is an outright lack of accountability. People can do anything and go away with it and there are no consequences,” he said.

Akah called for free and fair elections, insisting that Nigerians should be allowed to elect candidates of their choice without interference.

“If Nigerians want to vote a squirrel, let it be the will of the people. If they decide to change to a kangaroo, let them do so. What we must not accept is mischief,” he said.

Speaking on his own candidacy, Akah said the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC)’s publication of candidates for the 2027 elections on August 1 had formally set the stage for his campaign for Ogoja/Yala Federal Constituency.

He said campaigns would officially commence on August 19, adding that his campaign would focus on grassroots mobilisation rather than relying on social media popularity.

“Campaigns will begin officially by 19th of August and then as they say, ‘you don’t win on the social media’ because you have maybe 100,000 followers on Facebook or this thing does not mean you will win a polling unit. We have to put in the work,” he said.

Akah also addressed the controversy surrounding the party’s primary election for the constituency, insisting that he won the primary in accordance with the party’s stipulated process.

He said he refrained from making a public self-declaration because doing so would have violated the party’s instructions governing the conduct of the primary.

He described his emergence as the party’s candidate as a privilege and said he intended to use the position to represent not only the interests of Ogoja/Yala but also the wider Nigerian population.

“I don’t believe that the problems of Ogoja/Yala will be solved in isolation from the problems in other parts of Nigeria. I believe that is a Nigerian problem,” he said.

Akah said, if elected, he would work towards preventing the National Assembly from becoming a rubber stamp for the executive.

He argued that a functioning legislature was necessary to provide effective checks and balances and ensure accountability in government.

“Nigerian problems are not impossible to solve. From the day you have a serious-minded president, a competent and capacitated leader who is sincere with a vision and a functioning National Assembly that is not a rubber stamp, from day one you begin to see changes,” he said.

He expressed confidence that the NDC would win the Ogoja/Yala Federal Constituency seat, adding that the party’s campaign would seek to mobilise voters around the need for political and electoral reform.

Akah said Nigerians must unite to demand an electoral system where votes count, arguing that credible elections remained fundamental to solving the country’s governance challenges. (Nigerian Tribune)