By Foster Akpore | Asaba, September 24, 2026
The presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Peter Obi, on Thursday said his administration, if elected in the 2027 general election, would prioritise the use of Nigeria’s resources for the benefit of citizens and discourage government officials from seeking medical treatment abroad.
Obi spoke in Asaba, Delta State, while inaugurating the NDC campaign secretariat in the state.
The former Anambra State governor also promised that his administration would promote transparency in the management of public resources and ensure that Nigerians could see the impact of the wealth generated by the country.
He said the NDC would return to Delta State for a wider campaign ahead of the 2027 elections, adding that the party’s campaign would extend across the state.
“One thing I can assure Nigeria is that the days when you do not see the impact of your wealth are gone,” Obi said.
“We must show Nigerians that they must see the impact of the wealth they are creating for the nation.”
He criticised the practice of government officials travelling abroad for medical treatment and said his administration would seek to strengthen hospitals within Nigeria.
“Any government official that will go abroad will be on referral,” he said, adding that government would ensure that hospitals in the country were fixed and made functional.
Obi also criticised the state of infrastructure in the Niger Delta, particularly roads, and said the region’s contribution to national wealth should translate into visible development.
“Now look at this. You cannot drive today on this Warri-Asaba road,” he said. “In all of Niger Delta, yes, they are producing the wealth we share every month. It is time to end it.”
According to him, the NDC would manage public resources differently by making government expenditure transparent.
“We will change it because we are going to be transparent. We will tell you where every penny is going,” he said.
The NDC presidential candidate said the newly opened secretariat would serve as a campaign centre for the party’s activities in Delta State.
“We are commissioning this office right now, that this office will be an office of victory. That this office will be an office of change in Delta,” he said.
Earlier, Deacon Chris Iyovwaye, who addressed the gathering on behalf of the party’s leadership, apologised for the delay in the arrival of some of the party leaders.
Iyovwaye attributed the delay to an airline disruption and thanked supporters who had waited for several hours.
He criticised the condition of infrastructure, healthcare, security and employment in the country and state, arguing that Nigerians should seek a change in 2027.
He said the election would provide an opportunity to alter the country’s political direction and urged supporters to take an active role in the process.
“2027 is our year. That’s the year God has ordained to turn things around,” Iyovwaye said.
“But we must all rise now to take our destiny into our hands.”
Senator Ovie Omo-Agege, who spoke at the event, said Deltans who supported Obi in the 2023 presidential election had done so because they identified with his message.
He argued that the conditions that influenced the 2023 election had worsened, citing electricity, employment and healthcare among the areas of concern.
Omo-Agege said the state’s NDC candidates would work to protect the party’s votes during the 2027 elections.
He also expressed confidence that the party would secure the three senatorial seats in Delta State and win a majority of the House of Representatives seats.
The former Deputy President of the 9th Senate further announced his support for Deacon Chris Iyovwaye as the party’s governorship candidate in Delta State.
“We have equally resolved, despite what you may hear out there, we have resolved to make Deacon Chris Iyovwaye our next governor of Delta State,” Omo-Agege said.
Rt. Hon. Victor Ochei, another speaker at the event, urged party supporters to remain committed to the NDC’s campaign.
He also referred to the proposed Obi-Kwankwaso ticket and called on supporters to work towards the party’s 2027 campaign objectives.
Chief Ominimini Ubiuwevbi, who spoke on behalf of the House of Representatives candidates, focused on the distribution of federal and state revenues.
He questioned whether Nigerians were seeing sufficient development from revenues shared by the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission.
According to him, poor roads and challenges in the education sector remained major concerns for citizens.
Ubiuwevbi expressed confidence in the party’s candidates in Delta State and said the party would seek victories across the five constituencies referred to during his address.
Mr Jimmy Idiovwa, Ughelli North Constituency I candidate who spoke on behalf of the Delta State House of Assembly candidates, said the candidates were firmly behind Obi and the NDC’s presidential campaign.
Idiovwa also referred to the party’s 2023 performance in Delta State and said the presence of political figures such as Omo-Agege and Ochei had strengthened the party’s structure ahead of the 2027 elections.
The gathering came as the NDC intensifies preparations for the 2027 general election. The party said earlier this week that its Presidential Campaign Council was nearing inauguration and that Obi and his running mate, Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, had been given authority to nominate principal officers for the council.