By Fatima Saka
ABUJA, Nigeria — The Democratic Leadership Alliance (DLA) has said Nigeria cannot achieve sustainable development by relying on taxpayers’ money, criticising the current administration and successive governments for imposing hardship on citizens without delivering commensurate improvements in their living conditions.
The party made the assertion on Monday in Abuja during the formal presentation of its presidential candidate, Dr. Moses Adebisi, ahead of the 2027 general election.
The DLA presidential candidate said taxes should primarily be used to sustain infrastructure and systems already established, rather than serving as the foundation for building a nation.
“No nation on the surface of the earth, not America, not the United Kingdom, was built by the tax charged on the people. Taxes are only meant to be collected to sustain what is already built,” he said.
He accused successive Nigerian leaders of failing to properly harness the country’s vast human and natural resources, arguing that economic hardship, insecurity and poverty were consequences of poor leadership and inadequate economic planning.
According to him, Nigeria required a new generation of competent, compassionate and disciplined leaders capable of restoring human dignity and addressing the country’s development challenges.
Earlier, the National Chairman of the DLA, Barr. Memeh M. Samuel, announced that the party had successfully conducted its presidential substitution primary election in accordance with the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, electoral guidelines and the party’s constitution.
He said the party had taken the necessary steps to officially submit the name and relevant particulars of its candidate to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in line with the applicable electoral process.
Samuel said the party also formally presented the certificate of return to Dr. Moses Adebisi, confirming his emergence as the presidential candidate of the DLA for the 2027 general election.
“This is a significant moment in the history of the Democratic Leadership Alliance,” he said.
The DLA chairman disclosed that he was previously nominated as the party’s candidate but voluntarily withdrew his candidacy after what he described as careful consideration and in the overall interest of the party and the future of Nigeria.
“I made that decision because I believe that leadership must never be about personal ambition alone. Leadership must be about service, sacrifice and placing the interests of the people and the nation above personal interests,” Samuel said.
He added that he remained the national chairman and leader of the party and would work closely with its new presidential candidate and other members to provide Nigerians with what he described as a credible alternative in 2027.
Samuel expressed confidence in Adebisi’s capacity and commitment to the Nigerian project, saying the candidate would work with the party’s institutions and members in line with the Constitution and the DLA manifesto and ideology.
On insecurity, the DLA chairman said the country was going through difficult times, with communities living in fear, farmers unable to freely access their farmlands and businesses struggling under an uncertain security environment.
He called on President Bola Tinubu to take urgent and practical steps to address the country’s worsening security challenges.
“We must recruit more qualified security personnel. We must improve the welfare of our officers and men. We must provide them with the equipment, intelligence and infrastructure necessary to perform their duties,” he said.
Samuel said Nigeria could no longer depend on overstretched security agencies while insecurity continued to spread across communities.
He also called for the rehabilitation and effective utilisation of existing security infrastructure, saying the debate on state policing should not distract the Federal Government from its immediate responsibility to strengthen institutions already in existence.
“Before creating new structures, we must strengthen the institutions that already exist. We need more personnel. We need better welfare. We need functional facilities. We need equipment and, above all, leadership and accountability,” he said.
On the removal of fuel subsidy, Samuel said the policy had imposed significant hardship on Nigerians despite government claims that the resulting savings had increased financial capacity and allocations to states.
He said Nigerians had a right to demand accountability from governments at all levels and know what had been achieved with the sacrifices imposed on them.
“If this is so, then Nigerians have a right to ask an important question: What has been achieved with the sacrifice of the Nigerian people?” he asked.
He called on the Federal Government to engage state governors and demand accountability over increased allocations, noting that many citizens were yet to experience corresponding improvements in roads, hospitals, schools, employment and security.
“The Nigerian people must not be made to suffer because of the inadequacies and failures of political leadership,” Samuel said.
He urged the Federal Government to reconsider its policies if they were not producing measurable improvements in the lives of Nigerians.
The DLA chairman further urged President Tinubu to put Nigeria first and reconsider the pursuit of a second term if his administration could not demonstrate clear improvements in security, economic stability and living conditions before the next election.
“This is not a call motivated by personal hostility. It is a call motivated by patriotism and concern for the future of our country,” he said.
Samuel maintained that Nigeria was bigger than any individual or political party and must survive and prosper beyond every government.
He said the DLA was committed to offering leadership, ideas and practical policies for a secure, prosperous and united Nigeria.
The party, he added, would focus on leadership, justice and economic advancement while strengthening public institutions, creating opportunities for young people and improving government accountability.
Presenting the party’s broader vision, Adebisi said the DLA’s central objective was the restoration of human dignity in Nigeria.
He said the party believed that addressing the fundamental problems confronting Nigerians required a new generation of leaders and a comprehensive programme built around emergency national intervention, self-actualisation of citizens and purposeful national development.
Adebisi said the party’s economic agenda would seek to empower Nigerians to contribute directly to the Gross National Product (GNP), arguing that broad participation in national productivity was critical to economic development.
He said the DLA planned to provide citizens with economic opportunities and access to productive resources that would enable families and communities to contribute meaningfully to the country’s economy.
“Every Nigerian will be empowered to power the country,” he said.
The candidate said Nigeria’s natural wealth should translate into improved living standards for citizens, particularly in resource-producing communities.
He cited the Niger Delta as an example of a region with enormous wealth but where many communities continued to experience poverty and underdevelopment.
“If Nigeria is wealthy, the wealth will show on the Nigerian people,” he said.
Adebisi also said education would be given priority under a DLA administration, while citizens would be empowered to contribute to national productivity.
He argued that economic transformation required deliberate planning, vision and strong leadership.
According to him, the responsibility of a president was to anticipate the future, develop a plan for that future and provide the leadership necessary to implement it.
“The job of a president is to have foresight, to be able to see the future, map out the plan to prepare for that future, give the order and ensure implementation,” he said.
The DLA candidate said the party was prepared to pursue what he described as a seven-pillar economic transformation agenda, beginning with national unity and a “national psyche re-engineering architecture.”
He said the proposed agenda would seek to unite Nigerians around a common national vision, followed by the identification, development and harnessing of the country’s natural and human resources.
He also promised emergency national interventions, economic empowerment and wealth redistribution if elected.
The candidate said Nigeria had abundant natural and human resources but had failed to translate them into prosperity for the majority of its citizens.
“There is no war in Nigeria, but there is no peace. There is no famine, no drought, but there is no food. We do not lack natural and human resources in this country, but there is no money in the pockets of the people,” he said.
Adebisi called on young Nigerians to take a more active role in determining the country’s political future, insisting that the 2027 election offered an opportunity for what he described as a transition to a new generation of leadership.
He urged Nigerians across the country to join the DLA, saying the party was offering a new direction and a different approach to governance.
The DLA leadership said the party would continue to organise and present what it described as practical solutions to Nigeria’s challenges as preparations for the 2027 general election gather momentum.
The event was attended by other party officials, including the National Secretary, Obekpa, Grace and the Organising Secretary, John O. Friday, among others.
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Samuel said the party was ready for the journey to 2027.
“Nigeria must come first. The Nigerian people must come first, and the future of our country must be secured,” he said.
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