Presidential candidate of the Peoples Redemption Party (PRP), Donald Duke, has said he joined the 2027 presidential race to address Nigeria’s long-standing challenges and provide citizens with “a new lease of life.”
Duke, a former governor of Cross River State, said Nigeria had suffered from a leadership deficit since the return to democratic rule in 1979, arguing that the failure to provide effective leadership had slowed the country’s development.
Speaking with journalists in Abuja, Duke said successive governments had introduced different political ideas but failed to provide the vision needed to transform those ideas into meaningful economic and political development.
“There has been frustration in the political system since the return to democracy. In reality, we could have done better than what we have if we had the right leadership.
“Since the return to democratic rule, there have been successive governments but there has not been one with leadership vision.
“That is why I have put up myself in order to provide the needed leadership to change the political question and provide the required development and growth,” Duke said.
He urged politicians to focus less on attacking one another and instead explain clearly to Nigerians what they intend to achieve if elected.
“We in the political system do not need mudslinging but to tell Nigerians what we can do for the country,” he added.
Duke argued that several past administrations assumed office without clearly defined plans for governance, saying the absence of a coherent national vision had contributed to repeated failures in government.
The PRP presidential candidate also called for greater cooperation among opposition parties ahead of the 2027 election.
According to him, the opposition could defeat the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) if the parties were willing to put aside individual interests, agree on a common candidate and develop a unified campaign strategy.
He said opposition parties must determine which of their candidates was best positioned to lead a united challenge against the APC.
Duke warned that failure to form such an alliance could give President Bola Tinubu’s administration an advantage in the election.
However, he maintained that the APC could still be defeated despite its control of more than 30 states if opposition parties worked together towards a common objective.
On the petroleum subsidy debate, the former Cross River governor backed government intervention to keep fuel prices affordable.
He argued that Nigerians should not be made to bear the full burden of subsidy removal, particularly when petroleum products are subsequently sold at prices linked to international market rates.
Duke also expressed support for the establishment of state police, saying the measure should have been introduced earlier to address security challenges, including crimes associated with widespread poverty.
On the government’s student loan programme, Duke described the initiative as positive but warned that beneficiaries could face difficulties repaying the loans without adequate employment opportunities.
He called for employment-generating policies to be implemented alongside student financing programmes so that graduates would have the means to repay their loans.
Duke further criticised the relationship between government spending and revenue generation, arguing that Nigeria could achieve better economic outcomes through closer coordination of monetary and fiscal policies.
He said such coordination was necessary to encourage wealth creation, improve economic opportunities and reduce the number of Nigerians living in poverty.
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