The Labour Party presidential candidate, Chibuzor Okereke, has restated the need for greater interest in political participation, as electing good officials has clear positive impacts.

In a statement on Thursday, Mr Okereke insisted that political participation should not be left to a small group of people, saying that citizens should have a voice in determining who represents them.

According to him, economic development is linked to political participation because political decisions influence the environment in which economic activities take place.

Mr Okereke charged eligible Nigerians to obtain their permanent Voter Cards where necessary and participate in the 2027 electoral process.

“I urged Nigerians to take greater interest in political participation; elected representatives at the federal, state and local levels make decisions that affect citizens’ everyday lives,” he said.

Mr Okereke, who endorsed Governor Alex Otti and other party candidates, said the Labour Party would provide leadership that will improve Nigerians’ socio-economic conditions.

He said the party’s campaign is centred on showing how governance can be approached differently, urging citizens to vote massively for the party in all elections.

The presidential candidate said political leadership should ultimately improve citizens’ socio-economic conditions.

Mr Okereke said that under his watch, Nigeria must function as a federation and ensure the local government system works, introduce the zero-based budgeting technique and do a full reset of Nigeria’s institutional governance approach anchored on the ‘Nigerians First Vision’.

He said if elected president in 2027, he would ensure youth and women’s development through inclusion and participatory governance.

The candidate said he would expand the Federal Character’s scope beyond ethnicity to include youth, women, persons with disabilities, etc., and ultimately end the palliative and distributive economy in favour of a fully productive economy.

(NAN)