By Adesina Soyooye
Chukwuemeka Nwajiuba, a former Minister of State, for Education under the late President Muhammadu Buhari, has formally declared his intention to run for the presidency in the 2027 general elections.
In declaring his interest, Nwajiuba dumped the All Progressives Congress, APC, for the African Democratic Congress, ADC.
A Lawyer by training, Nwajiuba is also a businessman and entrepreneur. He was, for two terms, a member of the House of Representatives and had, also, sought to occupy the Governorship seat of his home State, Imo.
It is not the first time Nwajiuba will seek to occupy the seat of Nigeria’s top office. He had, in 2023, resigned from his office as Minister of State for Education to aspire to the office of the President alongside now President Bola Tinubu, Rotimi Amaechi and others.
He performed very poorly, like others, and since then, had given the APC a lot of space and became, anonymous, almost, in political circles.
His latest move, he said,
was triggered by what he said is “a desire to usher in a new era of leadership based strictly on competence.”
Nwajiuba, who was also the Chairman of the Board of Trustees for the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund), took a look at the state of the Education sector in Nigeria, and noted that its “current state demands a leader with a profound grasp of policy and the practical experience to implement meaningful change.”
While addressing the Press and his supporters, Nwajiuba criticized “the reliance on political slogans that lack real-world impact.
“Nigeria’s challenges cannot be solved by slogans or emotional speeches alone. What we need is leadership anchored on clear policies, competence, and the ability to negotiate solutions that work for the people.
“My time in the legislature, the executive, and national institutions has prepared me for the task of leading a complex country like Nigeria.”
In defecting to the ADC, Nwajiuba has only followed the footsteps of a number of prominent politicians from the South-east who, at a recent event in Enugu, defected to the ADC, along with their supporters and structures.
He has, also, become the second Igbo son to declare interest in running for the office of the President in 2027. Peter Obi, a founding member of the ADC and the Presidential Candidate of the Labour Party in 2023, was the first to declare interest in the top job against 2027.
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