2027: Ex-LP aspirant emerges YPP presidential candidate
August 21, 2026 8:04 pm
The new presidential candidate, Peter Agada receiving the party’s flag. Credit: YPP
The Young Progressives Party has dropped Anita Zugwai-Chukwu, its presidential candidate and National Women Leader, and named former Labour Party presidential aspirant Peter Agada as her replacement ahead of the 2027 general election.
Agada’s emergence was formally affirmed at a presidential and vice-presidential substitution primary election held by the party in Abuja on Friday, where he was presented alongside his running mate, Ndidi Keys.
Zugwai-Chukwu had been adopted as the YPP’s sole presidential candidate at the party’s third national convention in Abuja on May 30, 2026, before the party subsequently made the change.
Addressing delegates and party leaders at the substitution programme, Agada who joined the party in June after he was disqualified from the Labour Party’s presidential primary said the new mandate was not about his personal ambition but about addressing the challenges confronting 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 said.
He also 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 structure. The structure is the bone, is 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.
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 assuming more than the mandate of the party, as he would also carry the expectations of party members and Nigerians seeking an alternative political platform.
She also introduced Keys as the party’s vice-presidential candidate, describing her emergence as significant for Nigerian women and girls.
Mahmoud said the Agada-Key ticket represented what she called the “P&P Partnership”—“Purpose and Progress; Partnership and Prosperity; Peace and Performance.”
Solomon Odeniyi is a journalist at Punch Newspapers with over six years of professional experience. He has covered key national beats including the judiciary, military, and police, and currently reports on anti-corruption and related issues. Solomon’s work reflects a strong commitment to development-oriented reporting, public interest journalism, and accountability.
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