Reported by: Ijeoma G | Edited by: Oravbiere Osayomore Promise.
The Young Progressives Party has dramatically replaced its 2027 presidential candidate, dropping its National Women Leader, Anita Zugwai-Chukwu, who was adopted as the party's sole presidential candidate at its third national convention in Abuja on May 30, 2026, and naming former Labour Party presidential aspirant, Arc. Peter Agada, as her replacement. Agada's emergence was formally affirmed at a presidential and vice-presidential substitution primary election held by the party in Abuja on Friday, August 21, 2026, where he was presented alongside his running mate, Ndidi Keys. The decision represents a significant shift in the party's strategy, replacing a female candidate with a male technocrat who joined the YPP in June after he was disqualified from the Labour Party's presidential primary.
Addressing delegates and party leaders at the substitution programme, Agada framed his emergence as a mandate not driven by personal ambition but by the urgent need to address the challenges confronting millions of Nigerians. "Today is not about me. Today is about 140 million Nigerians that the IMF says are living at or below the national poverty line," Agada declared. He cited food insecurity, internal displacement and youth unemployment as major concerns, noting that "35 million persons are hungry" and about 3.6 million Nigerians remain internally displaced because of conflict and insecurity. Agada said he joined the YPP because he believed its platform offered an opportunity to prioritise competence and delivery over political calculations. "A few months ago, some tried to shut the door at this aspiration you see here right now. But you, the delegates of YPP, you opened a bigger door. You said let competence speak. Let capacity lead and let results matter," he said.
The new YPP candidate described his proposed approach to governance as "governance with GPS," saying his administration would focus on addressing the causes of poverty rather than merely managing its effects. "We will not manage poverty. We will attack the very causes of poverty," he said, placing security at the centre of his proposed agenda. Agada, who said he had spent about two decades working on public policy, also highlighted his experience with the Congress of Nigerian Professionals, which he said develops policy solutions across 23 sectors. He claimed that some security solutions developed by his team had previously been presented to government but were not implemented, including a proposed national security infrastructure for monitoring Nigeria's highways and borders. According to him, his team also worked on a military communications network intended to provide the armed forces with a proprietary communications system.
Agada challenged other presidential aspirants to go beyond campaign promises and explain how their proposed policies would be implemented. "It is very easy for young architects or architects to design very fantastic looking buildings. But there is one thing that differentiates the boys from the men. It is called structures. The structure is the bone, is the how," he said. He said the YPP would focus on providing the mechanisms for translating policies into measurable outcomes, particularly in security, agriculture and food production. "What I and YPP are bringing to the table is the how Nigeria can change," he said. Agada also promised to transform Nigeria from an agricultural country into a food-producing nation capable of feeding its population, exporting food and generating foreign exchange.
The centrepiece of Agada's economic agenda is what he describes as "Ward Capitalism," a model designed to channel resources, infrastructure and enterprise support directly to communities. "The concept of ward capitalism is my attempt to answer a fundamental Nigerian question: How do we make economic development reach the citizen where the citizen actually lives?" he asked. He explained that under the model, the ward would become a key unit of economic development. "Under ward capitalism, the ward becomes an important economic development unit. The philosophy is simple: Abuja – Ward – Enterprise – Production – Prosperity. That is fundamentally different from the false mirage of many decades that concentrating and distributing resources from Abuja and hoping prosperity eventually reaches everybody," he said.
Agada has also rejected joining any political coalition formed solely to defeat the ruling party, insisting that any political alliance must be based on a clearly defined ideology and policy agenda. "A coalition cannot simply be a gathering of politicians whose only common objective is removing another from office. What happens the morning after victory? What economic philosophy governs? What happens to education? What happens to healthcare? Those questions must be answered," he said. Agada described himself as a centre-to-left political thinker, saying he believed in enterprise, investment and markets while also advocating policies that would protect citizens and expand economic opportunities. He also said his LabourDirect initiative would continue under the YPP, describing it as an effort to connect government, labour, production, technology, accountability and citizens.
Earlier, the YPP Deputy National Chairperson, Amb. Dr Nana Aisha Mahmoud, formally announced the substitution and welcomed Agada as the party's presidential candidate. Mahmoud paid tribute to Zugwai-Chukwu, describing her as a "courageous woman" who accepted the responsibility of serving as the party's presidential placeholder. "You served when your party required you. You carried the responsibility with dignity. And you helped make today's transition possible," she said. Welcoming Agada, Mahmoud said he was bringing a wealth of experience and a clear vision to the party's presidential ticket. Agada acknowledged that the YPP currently does not control any state government and lacks the political structure of some larger parties, but said his campaign would rely on grassroots mobilisation. "We are building an army; not an army of violence but an army of citizens, organisers, volunteers, professionals, women, young people and grassroots mobilisers. And an army that must survive beyond 2027," he said.
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