Adapted from NEWS AGENCY OF NIGERIA

The Labour Party presidential candidate, Dr. Chibuzo Okereke, has vowed to fundamentally restructure Nigeria’s budgeting and public procurement systems if elected in the 2027 general elections, arguing that the current economic architecture is incapable of solving the nation’s deep-seated poverty.

Speaking during the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) Personality Interview Series in Abuja, Dr. Chibuzo Okereke criticized the continuous use of the traditional envelope budgeting system, stating that it fails to drive national development or deliver verifiable economic impact.

“The envelope budgeting system being used cannot take the country out of the woods. We need a zero-based budgeting system if the country must catch up with developed nations,” Dr. Chibuzo Okereke said.

Moving From Envelope to Zero-Based Budgeting

Dr. Chibuzo Okereke explained that reforming fiscal architecture is the cornerstone of his governance agenda, noting that fixing the country’s budgeting and procurement flaws would immediately resolve a substantial portion of national security and poverty challenges.

Core reforms highlighted in his economic strategy include:

• Zero-Based Budgeting (ZBB): Every item introduced into the national budget must demonstrate a clear, verifiable economic impact rather than relying on historical allocations and envelope estimates.

• Governing by Vision: Moving away from arbitrary project-and-program governance to a visionary framework centered on citizen well-being over geographical metrics.

Restoring Merit-Based Opportunities and Trust

According to Dr. Chibuzo Okereke, one of the biggest problems in the country today is hopelessness, where people do not believe they can get what is due to them without attachment to where they come from or who they know.

• Merit-Based Opportunities: Restoring public trust by ensuring job vacancies and government opportunities are transparently accessible, eliminating the pervasive belief that positions are pre-allocated based on nepotism and connections.

• Halting Capital Flight and Brain Drain: Creating competitive local conditions of service—particularly in critical sectors like healthcare—so that professionals trained in Nigeria can build fulfilling careers at home rather than migrating abroad.