By BONIFACE AKARAH

Presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Peter Obi, has challenged all contenders for the 2027 presidency to personally face Nigerians, defend their records and subject their plans for the country to public scrutiny.

Obi made the call on Friday as he formally outlined his approach to the 2027 presidential campaign, insisting that Nigerians deserved candidates who would engage directly with voters rather than rely on proxies and surrogates.

He said every presidential candidate seeking the country's highest political office should be prepared to travel across Nigeria, listen to citizens and answer questions about their records and proposed policies.

“No candidate should hide behind the high walls of power, send proxies or surrogates to the hustings, and expect Nigerians to entrust them with the leadership of the country,” Obi said.

According to him, the election should be decided on the basis of capacity, competence, compassion, character and commitment rather than ethnicity, religion or political connections.

He urged candidates to present evidence for their campaign promises and allow Nigerians to assess what they have done in previous public or private roles.

“Every candidate seeking the presidency must have the courage to come before the people, answer their questions, defend their records, and subject their vision to public scrutiny,”** he said.

Obi also linked direct engagement with voters to effective leadership, arguing that a president cannot properly understand the country's problems without seeing and listening to affected communities.

He said insecurity, flooding, poverty and other challenges facing Nigerians require leaders who are willing to visit affected communities rather than govern from a distance.

“You cannot truly lead people you are unwilling to visit, listen to, and understand,” he said.

The former Anambra State governor said he and his running mate would personally take their campaign message across the country instead of delegating the responsibility to political surrogates.

“We will listen to them, understand their concerns, and engage them openly. We will not delegate this duty to proxies,” he said.

Obi said Nigerians should also judge candidates by their ability to offer practical solutions to insecurity, poverty, hunger, unemployment, poor education and healthcare challenges.

He called for political competition without hatred or violence, saying disagreements should not weaken national unity.

The NDC candidate said his campaign would focus on what he described as the urgent concerns of Nigerians, with the broader objective of uniting the country, improving security and moving the economy from consumption to production.

“A New Nigeria is possible,” Obi said.