ByBeifoh Osewele

Thepresidential candidate of the Peoples Redemption Party (PRP) for the 2027 general election, Donald Duke, has warned that Nigeria risks sliding into a deeper social and economic crisis unless urgent reforms are undertaken to reverse the country’s current trajectory.

Duke, former governor of Cross River State, said the next administration must tackle insecurity, revive agriculture, rebuild critical infrastructure, strengthen education and healthcare and create a business environment capable of driving sustainable economic growth.

He said Nigeria’s worsening security situation and economic hardship were symptoms of years of weak governance, ineffective leadership and failure to grow the economy in line with the country’s rapidly expanding population.

“The direction the country is going requires very urgent intervention. Another four years, if we don’t change the trajectory, I see disasters where it is already looming. It will deepen further,” Duke said in an interview in Lagos.

The PRP candidate said his return to frontline politics was driven by the need to intervene in what he described as an increasingly critical national situation.

He argued that the political class must put aside personal ambitions and work towards a new national direction, urging opposition parties to unite around a credible alternative to the ruling party ahead of the 2027 election.

Duke said insecurity could not be addressed solely through military action, arguing that insurgency, banditry and kidnapping were also linked to economic deprivation and lack of opportunities.

According to him, government must prioritise productive investment, affordable credit, security and policies that enable Nigerians to create wealth.

He said agriculture should be repositioned as a major driver of economic growth, with government providing the infrastructure, financing and security required to make farming profitable and attract young Nigerians into the sector.

Duke also called for the rehabilitation of critical infrastructure, saying sustained economic growth would remain difficult without reliable infrastructure to support businesses and productive activities.

He identified education and healthcare as other areas requiring urgent attention, arguing that a productive economy depends on a healthy and skilled population.

The former governor said Nigeria should also create conditions that encourage private investment, entrepreneurship and business expansion rather than policies that make it difficult for businesses to survive.

Drawing from his experience as Cross River governor, Duke said his administration focused on agriculture and tourism after identifying areas where the state had comparative advantages.

He cited the Calabar Carnival and Obudu Ranch as examples of how deliberate investment in a state’s unique economic assets could attract visitors, create jobs and stimulate economic activity.

According to him, the Calabar Carnival attracted more than one million visitors annually in December during his administration, while investment in the Obudu Ranch helped transform the area into a major tourism destination.

“Every state in Nigeria has something to sell,” Duke said.

He argued that the same approach could be applied across the country by identifying the economic strengths of individual states and developing policies around them instead of relying excessively on federal allocations.

Duke said Nigeria needed a development strategy that would enable states to generate wealth from their resources, create employment and reduce dependence on government spending.

He warned that without a decisive change in direction, worsening economic hardship, unemployment and insecurity could further destabilise the country.

The PRP candidate’s emergence as the party’s presidential flag bearer followed a primary election that has been surrounded by legal disputes, but he said the focus should remain on providing Nigerians with a credible political alternative.

He maintained that the 2027 election should be a contest over competing ideas and solutions to Nigeria’s problems rather than personal ambitions.

Duke said the country still had the human and natural resources required to reverse its fortunes, but insisted that this would depend on leadership capable of making difficult decisions and implementing long-term reforms.