Abuja: The National Rescue Movement (NRM) has elected Dr. Esther Okereke as its presidential candidate for the 2027 general elections. The National Chairman of the NRM, Prince Chinedu Obi, unveiled Okereke as the party’s candidate, stating that she was duly cleared for the ticket after successfully completing the party’s rigorous screening process.
According to News Agency of Nigeria, Obi addressed delegates during the party’s 2027 convention and presidential primary election, emphasizing that Nigeria could work again through visionary leadership and collective sacrifice. He described the convention as a defining national responsibility and a historic mission. The delegates’ presence at the convention, despite prevailing insecurity across the country, demonstrated courage, patriotism, commitment, and unwavering belief in the ideals of the NRM.
Obi expressed concern over widespread insecurity, remembering victims of kidnapping, terrorism, banditry, and communal clashes, as well as displaced families, widows, unemployed graduates, and struggling workers. He sympathized with farmers unable to access their farmlands due to insecurity and millions of Nigerians battling hunger, poverty, and economic hardship daily.
The chairman assured Nigerians that the country would rise again through responsible leadership, adding that the NRM remained committed to restoring hope, peace, prosperity, and national stability. According to him, Nigeria’s greatest tragedy is not the lack of resources or opportunities, but persistent leadership failures that have hindered national development and shared prosperity. He highlighted Nigeria’s abundant mineral resources, fertile land, energetic youths, and entrepreneurial citizens, yet millions remain trapped in poverty because of poor governance and weak institutions.
Obi stated that the NRM rejected narratives portraying poverty, corruption, and insecurity as inevitable, insisting that Nigeria remained capable of achieving stability, growth, and sustainable development. The party was founded to promote national transformation, social justice, constitutionalism, accountability, and the rule of law, rather than merely seeking political power.
The NRM chairman explained that the party’s ‘Rescue Nigeria Blueprint’ contained 24 policy pillars addressing security, economic reforms, education, healthcare, entrepreneurship, institutional strengthening, and infrastructure development. He pledged that the NRM would modernize the country’s security architecture, strengthen intelligence gathering, revive agriculture, promote industrialization, and improve access to healthcare through deliberate policy implementation.
Obi commended members of the party’s National Management Committee and state chapters for sustaining the party through discipline, sacrifice, accountability, and commitment to democratic ideals. He urged delegates and Nigerians to support the party’s rescue mission, insisting that Nigeria remained redeemable and capable of regaining its position as Africa’s beacon of hope.
In her acceptance speech, Okereke stated that politics had long been reduced to struggles for power instead of governance, promising to prioritize responsible leadership if elected. She unveiled the ‘ESTHER Agenda,’ describing it as a framework for national rebirth anchored on transformative leadership, economic recovery, patriotism, accountability, and sustainable development.