The National Rescue Movement (NRM) presidential candidate, Esther Okereke, has outlined plans to tackle Nigeria’s electricity crisis, insecurity, corruption and economic woes if elected as president in 2027.
Nollywood actress and humanitarian, Okereke, said her political ambition was fueled by years of working with vulnerable Nigerians including widows, orphans and people living with disabilities.
She rejected the idea that she was merely a celebrity candidate, defending her political credentials and saying her grassroots experience had given her first-hand knowledge of the problems facing ordinary Nigerians.
“I’m not only an actor. “I would say that I am a humanitarian in politics. I found foundations for widows, orphans, and the disabled. “I’ve run my foundations single-handedly without any support from anywhere,” she said.
She said she was a “grassroots candidate,” and her proposed policies were captured under the six-pillar ESTHER Agenda, which she called a “people’s manifesto.”
The agenda includes economic development, energy, education, security, social and sustainable development, technology transformation, transparency, housing and health.
On electricity, she said her administration would prioritize the end of the power crisis through the deployment of renewable energy and decentralized power generation.
She proposed a target of 25,000 megawatts within her first 100 days in office, arguing that improved electricity would also help to uncover and address other problems, including insecurity.
“First is to take out the darkness in the system because when you take out the darkness, you can see. Next, you secure the system with security. Fix electricity. Remove the darkness so you can see the security issues, and tackle them. We have 100 days to get to 25,000 megawatts. “Very possible,” she said.
Corruption and personal interests were major barriers to fixing the power sector and officials who failed to deliver on agreed targets should be replaced, she said.
On Nigeria’s debt burden and revenue problems, the NRM candidate suggested getting rid of what she described as redundant parastatals, agencies and ministries.
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She said that funds recovered from such restructuring and the recovery of public resources would be reinvested in the economy.
“First thing we will cut off lots of parastatals that are redundant, fake parastatals, fake agencies, fake ministries, lots of these ghost organizations. We cut them off then we go for recovery,” she said.
“The recovery of public funds will be part of the ‘R’ of her ESTHER Agenda,” she said.
Okereke also suggested increased funding for security agencies and community policing as part of her strategy for tackling insecurity.
She argued that if residents who know the lay of the land in their communities were trained and equipped correctly, they would be better positioned to help protect them.
Finance our security. Community policing is very important. “Let the people who know the terrain guard their forest, let them guard their community,” she said.
With the right expertise and support, she added, the training and deployment of community police could be done in six months.
Corruption, Okereke said, is a major obstacle to solving Nigeria’s security and economic problems and pledged to make its elimination a priority.
“Corruption within the system and that is something we do not take for granted in NRM. It’s our motto. Corruption kills everything; it ruins everything in a system. So that we will tackle corruption first, because that is the main problem we have,” she said.
She also called for increased investment in human capital, lamenting the loss of talented professionals and workers to other countries.
She advocated for investment in Nigerians and better opportunities to reverse the loss of skilled manpower.
Okereke said she expected her strongest backing to come from grassroots communities, where she believes her experience has given her a clear understanding of the problems facing Nigerians.
We have people that have the interest and the love of the grassroots, love for people. Now, this is me coming at it from this grassroots angle, because I feel what they feel, I see what they see. And I knew where I was at. Basic amenities are not a luxury, these are basic rights of the citizens,” she told.
She also responded to her lack of traditional government experience by citing her work in hospitality, real estate, investments, construction and agriculture.
I have run a series of businesses in different sectors and that is the way Nigeria is. We have the power sector, we have the finance sector, we have the housing sector, we have the agricultural sector which I have invested in, run and managed,” she said.
Okereke said good leadership, he argued, ultimately depends on the ability to make hard decisions for the benefit of citizens.
“You just need the will,” she insisted.