Dr Esther Nkem Okereke has emerged as the presidential candidate of the National Rescue Mission, NRM, ahead of the 2027 general election.
Okereke emerged through a consensus arrangement brokered by leaders of the party.
Speaking on the development, the National Chairman of the party, Prince Dr Chinedu Obi, said Nigeria can still be rescued and transformed into a prosperous nation.
Obi stated that Nigeria is richly blessed with vast mineral resources, fertile agricultural land, strategic geographical positioning, an energetic youth population, entrepreneurial citizens and immense human capital.
Despite these advantages, he lamented that millions of Nigerians remain trapped in poverty.
According to him, the contradiction of a resource rich nation producing widespread poverty underscores the need for transformational leadership, adding that Okereke possesses the capacity to restore Nigeria’s lost glory.
“For years, global reports repeatedly described Nigeria as the poverty capital of the world, a title no nation should wear with comfort and no leadership should accept with resignation.
“We shall transform education by restoring standards, improving access, strengthening technical and vocational training, investing in research and innovation, and preparing our youth for a competitive global economy.
“We shall reform healthcare by prioritizing primary healthcare systems, strengthening health insurance coverage, investing in medical personnel, and ensuring that quality healthcare becomes a right rather than a privilege,” he said.
In her acceptance speech, Okereke said history would remember the current moment as a turning point in Nigeria’s journey toward national rebirth.
According to her, Nigerians chose courage over fear, unity over division, hope over cynicism and progress over stagnation at a critical time in the nation’s history.
“Future generations will look back at this defining moment; they will say that when Nigeria stood at the edge of despair, a people arose with courage, unity, faith, and determination and rescued their nation.
“I deliberately chose the NRM a political party established to confront and rectify the systemic crises of governance in Nigeria.
“At the core of the NRM’s ideology is the deliberate and multi dimensional concept of ‘rescue.’ Far from being a mere populist slogan, ‘rescue’ is conceptualized as an urgent, interventionist necessity, a political and socio economic salvage operation required to pull Nigeria back from the brink of institutional collapse, economic stagnation, and widespread insecurity caused by decades of bad governance.
“The NRM positions itself as a generational vanguard. By mobilizing the youth, championing ethical leadership, and advocating for structural re engineering, the movement seeks to transition Nigeria from a state of survival to one of sustainable development.
“The NRM ideology are on all fours with my vision and mission which ultimately, is the motivation for my candidature in the Presidential election as a veritable partner to achieve the project ‘Rescue Nigeria’,” she stated.
