The presidential candidate of the Peoples Redemption Party (PRP), Donald Duke, has warned that Nigeria could slide into a deeper crisis within the next four years unless its political and economic direction changes urgently.
He made the warning during an exclusive interview with another news media, ARISE TV, on Wednesday.
The former Cross River State governor said the worsening state of the country pushed him to return to frontline politics, adding that remaining a spectator was no longer an option.
“The direction the country is going requires very urgent intervention. In another four years, if we don’t change the trajectory, disaster, which is already looming, will deepen further,” Duke said.
He explained that mounting economic hardship, insecurity and governance failures shaped his decision to seek the presidency under the PRP, a fringe opposition party that has fielded candidates in past elections without winning national office.
“It’s the urgency, the clear and apparent urgency of where we are today. You could be a spectator and make all sorts of analysis, or you can get involved,” he said.
Duke Blames Weak Economy And Poor Governance For Nigeria’s Woes
Duke attributed the country’s challenges to weak economic growth, poor governance and years of leadership failure.
“A combination of all. The economy is broken; it’s not growing. Call it Boko Haram, call it ISWAP, call it banditry or kidnapping, those are the fallout. Those are the symptoms of inadequacy,” he said.
He argued that successive administrations have prioritised politics over governance, weakening institutions and eroding public confidence.
“In the last 20-plus years, there has been very little governance going on, a lot of politics and no governance. The recent scandal where someone sets up an office in the Federal Secretariat that is not an institution of government shows there is poor governance in the system. Nothing speaks louder than that,” he added.
Duke also questioned the government’s economic management, arguing that high interest rates have stalled sustainable growth.
“You have poor governance as a derivative of leadership, and you have an economy that is just not growing. How can you grow an economy with interest rates in the upper 30s?” he asked.
A Call for Unity in the Opposition
On the 2027 political landscape, Duke called for opposition parties to work together, warning that a fragmented opposition would struggle to offer Nigerians a real alternative.
“Ideally, the opposition should come together. We have a splintered opposition with a common goal, but it doesn’t work that way. I want to be the voice of reason, because eventually, I think we all have to come together to decide where this country will go,” Duke said, in remarks reported by Vanguard.
He said personal ambitions among opposition politicians must give way to the national interest, describing Nigeria as currently “in a bad place” that needs collective leadership to change course.
Duke, who governed Cross River State between 1999 and 2007, emerged as the PRP’s presidential flagbearer earlier this year after a consensus process involving southern aspirants of the party.
