Peter Obi has placed Nigeria’s more than 140 million people living at or below the national poverty line at the centre of his 2027 presidential campaign.
The Nigerian Democratic Congress (NDC) Presidential Candidate promised a sweeping economic reset built around production, job creation, food security, human-capital development and accountable use of public funds.
Obi made poverty reduction the defining theme of an address marking the formal start of the campaign period for the 2027 Presidential and National Assembly elections.
Citing figures attributed to the International Monetary Fund, he said 63 per cent of Nigerians— more than 140 million people—live at or below the national poverty line.
He said the figure was compounded by a broader humanitarian and economic crisis, including an estimated 35 million Nigerians expected to need food assistance during the 2026 lean season and about 3.6 million internally displaced people, largely as a result of conflict and insecurity.
“These are more than statistics,” Obi said, arguing that the figures reflected the daily reality of Nigerian families, farmers, workers, students and businesses facing high living costs, unreliable power, weak infrastructure, insecurity and an expensive business
environment.
The former Anambra State governor said his campaign would seek to convert Nigeria’s people, resources, domestic market, talent and enterprise into security, productivity and shared prosperity.
His central message was that the country could not escape poverty
through consumption and imports, but must produce more, process more of what it produces and create productive opportunities for its rapidly growing population.
A production-led answer to mass poverty
Obi said his proposed economic agenda would put production, investment, enterprise and human capital at the heart of government.
Rather than measuring success by reform announcements or headline growth figures, he said Nigerians should ask whether they were better off than four years earlier and whether they could afford food, education and healthcare.
He also urged voters to assess whether businesses could survive and expand, whether young people could find productive work and whether farmers could safely reach their.farms and sell their produce.
Those, he said, were the measures that should determine whether government was delivering results Agriculture would be a major pillar of the plan.
Obi promised to secure farming
communities, expand irrigation, improve rural roads and storage, and connect farmers to finance and markets.
He said stronger manufacturing and agro-processing would help Nigeria export finished goods and retain more value from its resources, rather than relying on the export of raw materials and the importation of finished products.
The candidate also pledged to create a business environment in which entrepreneurs could invest, hire workers and grow without unnecessary regulatory or infrastructure barriers.
In his view, the purpose of economic growth should be to produce more, employ more people, create wealth and raise living standards.
Every naira must fight poverty
Obi linked poverty reduction directly to public-sector discipline, arguing that government spending must be tied to clear priorities and measurable outcomes.
He said every naira should have a clear purpose and that major public investments should be judged by the
results they produce.
He promised to cut wasteful spending while protecting investments in education,.healthcare, security and infrastructure.
Such spending, he said, should be regarded as a foundation for future prosperity rather than as costs to be postponed.
He further pledged to raise public revenue without suffocating businesses and to build institutions capable of surviving beyond any single administration.
Sustainable development, he argued, required more than reactive reform; it required policies that translated into better livelihoods, stronger human capital, wider opportunity and inclusive
growth.
Security central to food and economic recovery
Obi said poverty could not be defeated while insecurity prevented people from farming, travelling, attending school or operating businesses.
He described security as the foundation of any credible plan to reduce hunger, expand production and attract
investment.
His proposed measures include improved intelligence gathering, stronger coordination among security agencies, better policing and border management, and wider use of technology.
He also called for support for lawful community-based systems that could
identify threats early and improve the speed and effectiveness of responses.
He backed decentralised security management supported by strong coordination among the different levels of government.
He said security policy must also address the conditions that make vulnerable young people susceptible to criminal recruitment.
According to Obi, farmers cannot produce food if they cannot safely access their farms, children cannot learn if they cannot safely attend school, and businesses cannot create jobs if goods cannot move securely across the country.
Young Nigerians described as poverty’s exit route
Obi rejected the idea that Nigeria’s large youth population represented a burden. Instead, he described it as the country’s greatest opportunity—provided young Nigerians receive the education, skills and economic opportunities needed to participate productively.
He promised to improve basic education, strengthen universities and expand technical and vocational training.
Nigeria, he said, needed not only doctors, engineers, scientists and lawyers, but also technicians, mechanics, builders, nurses, farmers, programmers, manufacturers, artisans and entrepreneurs.
The objective, he added, would be to secure a high demographic dividend from Nigeria’s youth bulge and prevent a growing labour force from becoming trapped in unemployment, insecurity and poverty.
Healthcare would also form part of the anti-poverty strategy. Obi said a productive economy required a healthy population and described Nigeria’s primary healthcare system as poor, with maternal and infant mortality indicators remaining deeply concerning.
He pledged to strengthen healthcare delivery, improve maternal and child health, expand access to essential medicines and equip healthcare workers to serve effectively.
Regional economies to drive national recovery
Obi said poverty reduction could not be achieved through one-size-fits-all policy. He.proposed using economic strengths of each region while connecting them to a productive national economy.
The North-West, he said, could expand agriculture, livestock, irrigation, agro-processing and manufacturing while improving education and security.
The North-East could accelerate reconstruction, restore livelihoods and expand agriculture, education, enterprise and regional trade.
The North-Central could strengthen food production and processing while developing its mineral resources responsibly.
He identified manufacturing, technology, finance, trade and the creative economy as areas in which the South-West could build on its existing strengths.
The South-East, he said, could expand its entrepreneurial and industrial base through improved infrastructure, stronger connectivity and greater access to investment.
For the South-South, Obi proposed greater value from oil and gas alongside expansion in maritime services, fisheries, agriculture and other productive sectors, supported by stronger environmental protection.
He said the Federal Capital Territory should demonstrate what efficient planning, transport, housing, sanitation, security and public services could achieve. “Every region must produce. Every region must contribute. Every region must benefit,” he said.
Obi challenges candidates to defend records
Obi urged Nigerians to use the campaign period to examine the records and proposals of all candidates, ask difficult questions and demand evidence behind every promise.
He called for issue-based debate, peaceful competition and respect for the electorate’s eventual decision.
He also challenged presidential candidates to meet voters directly, defend their records and subject their plans to public scrutiny rather than relying on proxies or surrogates.
Leadership, he said, required presence and empathy, particularly in communities affected.by banditry, terrorism, criminality and flooding.
Obi pledged that he and his running mate would travel across the country, listen directly to Nigerians and answer questions about their plans, records and character.
He argued that any candidate unwilling to meet citizens and respond to their concerns lacked the capacity to govern Nigeria.
He said his campaign would focus on capacity, competence, compassion, character and commitment, while rejecting appeals based on ethnicity, religion, elitism, cronyism or propaganda.
Concluding his address, Obi said his objective was to unite Nigeria, secure the country, place it on a path of economic and inclusive growth, reduce poverty and hunger, improve education, healthcare, and move the nation from consumption to production. “A New Nigeria is possible,” he said.
