BY AHMED AKANBI
Labour Party (LP) presidential candidate for 2027, Dr Chibuzor Okereke, has vowed to run a “zero-based budget” to end wasteful government spending, promising to cut the cost of governance and make the local government system functional within his first 100 days in office if elected.
Okereke, who spoke in an interview, said Nigeria’s problem is not just subsidy removal but a disconnect between government and the people, assuring that his administration would be anchored on a ‘Nigerians First’ philosophy that puts citizens at the centre of governance.
Dismissing insinuations that he is a placeholder candidate, Okereke said the word does not exist in the LP constitution or the Electoral Act, noting that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) processed and published his name on August 1, 2026, alongside his running mate, after primaries and National Executive Council (NEC) ratification on May 11.
”They don’t want the LP to participate, that is why they are speculating,” he said, adding that the LP remains the party of workers and “the largest political party in Africa” by institutional membership.
He recalled the party’s 2023 performance, when it won over 30 House of Representatives seats, about seven Senators, several House of Assembly seats and the Abia State governorship under Governor Alex Otti, saying the party’s structures from grassroots to national level are intact despite past leadership crises.
Okereke said the party is preparing its campaign council and will unveil plans at the right time.
“We are not new. This is a party that is over two decades old… and there is no election year when the LP failed to field candidates,” he stated.
On ideology, he explained ‘Nigerians First’ is not a Western import but drawn from Chapter 2, Section 14 of the Constitution which says the welfare and security of the people is government’s primary purpose, adding that the second leg, ‘Believe Again,’ means Nigerians have an obligation to improve the country.
He criticised the current government for subsidising “a few of the elite and enriching fuel importers” while the majority wallow in poverty, arguing that governance must shift from discretion to planning with clear vision and development targets.
Assessing President Bola Tinubu’s economic team, Okereke said while there may be relative stability in monetary policy, Nigerians are not feeling the impact, blaming the situation on abandonment of true federalism and lack of coordination between federal, state and local governments.
”The National Economic Council must work. Governors don’t have anything that brings them together with local government… economic development of states and LGAs is part of their priority job,” he said, promising bottom-to-top governance where federal policies are implemented at all levels.
To drive the economy, Okereke listed digital innovation, agriculture and transportation as priority sectors, saying government will run on data, support SMEs, invest in tractors for food security, and deploy electric vehicles and CNG to cut transport costs, citing Abia’s deployment of over 40 electric vehicles.
On cost of governance, he said he would review laws establishing MDAs, scrap overlapping agencies, and end the incremental and envelope budgeting system.
”We have boards that do no oversight and we pay them. FERMA and the Ministry of Works both have offices everywhere. What are we talking about?” he asked.
Okereke said he would run a merit-based civil service where promotion is based on productivity, not longevity, and where public office is not “an escape from poverty.”
He also canvassed independent candidacy and lowering the age to run for House of Representatives to 18 within 100 days.