The Zenith Labour Party (ZLP) on Saturday ratified its National Chairman, Chief Dan Nwanyanwu, as the party’s presidential candidate for the 2027 general election, with the veteran politician promising to prioritise national unity, security, anti-corruption reforms, power sector revitalisation and industrial development if elected president.
The ratification took place during the party’s national convention held in Abuja, where delegates endorsed Nwanyanwu as the party’s standard-bearer for the next presidential race.
Chairman of the ZLP Presidential Screening Committee, Comrade Yahaya Mukama, formally announced the ratification of Nwanyanwu’s candidature before delegates and party stakeholders at the convention.
In his acceptance speech, the ZLP flagbearer pledged to justify the confidence reposed in him by party members and outlined what he described as the immediate priorities of his administration.
“I will make good use of this mandate,” Nwanyanwu told delegates amid applause.
“There are few points I will take up as president. These are the ones I will give immediate priority to.”
He identified national unity as the foremost challenge confronting the country, arguing that deep divisions among Nigerians have weakened trust and undermined national cohesion.
“The first thing I will do is to unite Nigerians. We are not united. We are living in deceit,” he said.
“Nigeria’s unity has suffered very serious setbacks especially in the last 11 years, since May 2015. The little trust among Nigerians has unfortunately been eroded under the All Progressives Congress government.
“My government therefore will prioritise urgent steps to unite Nigerians. It is only this way every other programme will gain legitimacy.”
Addressing the country’s worsening security situation, Nwanyanwu promised a comprehensive overhaul of the security architecture, including the introduction of federal, state and community policing systems.
“If I am given the mandate, I will immediately undertake the following actions. I will equip and direct security agencies to smoke out the criminals. They will be prosecuted and punished,” he said.
“There will be federal, state and community policing. It is an aberration to operate a centralised policing system.”
The ZLP presidential candidate also pledged greater transparency in security spending, insisting that all security votes would be subjected to accountability measures under his administration.
“All the security votes must be accounted for under my watch,” he declared.
He further promised to deploy modern security technology and equipment in tackling criminality across the country, while advocating a preventive approach to crime fighting.
“My government will tackle corruption, not the way we are doing it today. We will have zero tolerance for corruption. We will review all the laws establishing all anti-corruption agencies,” he said.
“Prevention of crime, rather than pursuing those who commit crimes, will be top priority. We will operate preventive mechanisms.”
Nwanyanwu also vowed to investigate government institutions and agencies dating back to Nigeria’s return to democratic rule in 1999, with the aim of recovering public funds allegedly lost through corruption.
“We will probe all government establishments since 1999 and recover money to be deployed in a transparent manner in healthcare and education,” he stated.
On the power sector, the ZLP candidate described Nigeria’s electricity industry as one of the country’s most poorly managed sectors, lamenting the nation’s inability to generate adequate electricity despite decades of investment.
“The energy sector is about the most mismanaged sector in the country. We cannot boast of 5,000 megawatts of electricity at any given point,” he said.
He criticised what he described as the growing disconnect between political leaders and ordinary citizens on issues affecting power supply.
“Recently, President Bola Tinubu installed N10 billion energy in the Presidential Villa for his personal comfort. It is a bad example.
“When leaders of the country exit the national grid in this manner, how then can those in government feel what the masses are going through?” he asked.
Nwanyanwu said his administration would pursue policies aimed at expanding renewable energy adoption while encouraging greater participation by private investors and state governments in electricity generation and distribution.
“My government will encourage the policy of green energy. We will also encourage the private sector and state governments to invest in the power sector,” he said.
Speaking on economic development and industrialisation, the ZLP flagbearer said Nigeria possesses enormous industrial potential but has failed to fully harness it because of bureaucratic bottlenecks and an unfriendly business environment.
“Nigeria has huge potential for industrialisation. Ease of doing business has not been properly addressed. Many investors are discouraged by the hurdles of doing business in the country,” he noted.
He promised to make funding more accessible to entrepreneurs and create policies that would support innovation, enterprise and job creation.
“My government will make special provisions to make access to funds easy in order to encourage entrepreneurship. Young people can begin to look inward on how to contribute to the growth of the country,” he said.
The ZLP candidate further pledged to empower young Nigerians and strengthen Nigeria’s federal structure through greater devolution of powers.
“My government will encourage youths and young entrepreneurs and I will create the enabling environment for them to thrive,” he said.
“My government will devolve power to the federating units and not concentrate power in Abuja.”
The ratification of Nwanyanwu marks the Zenith Labour Party’s formal entry into preparations for the 2027 presidential election, with party leaders expressing confidence that the candidate’s experience and policy proposals would resonate with voters across the country.