August 24, (THEWILL) — Two days after electioneering for the 2027 Presidential and National Assembly polls officially kicked off on Wednesday, August 19, 2026, some political parties embarked on candidate substitution at the weekend. The Democratic Leadership Alliance, DLA and the Young Progressive Party, YPP, fulfilled that obligation in obedience to Section 29 of the Electoral Act, 2026.
The sections states: “A political party shall not be allowed to change or substitute its candidate whose name has been submitted under section 29 of this Act, except in the case of death or withdrawal by the candidate, provided that in the case of such withdrawal or death of a candidate, the political party affected shall, within 14 days of the occurrence of the event, hold another primary election to produce and submit a new candidate to the Commission for the election concerned.”
Accordingly, DLA, which was registered by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, on February 5, 2026 alongside the Nigeria Democratic Congress, NDC, in Lagos State, affirmed Mr Moses Adebisi as its presidential candidate for the 2027 general election.
The Lagos State DLA Chairman, Mr Richard Benson, on Friday, said the party’s substitution primary was held at the party’s state secretariat in Surulere, Lagos, following a directive from INEC.Benson said the exercise was conducted across the party’s chapters to withdraw the candidature of Mr Samuel M. Memeh, the National Chairman of the party He said it also formally affirmed Adebisi as Memeh’s replacement for the presidential contest scheduled for Jan. 16, 2027. According to him, the decision was motivated by Nigeria’s urgent need for ethical, competent and inclusive leadership.
“We are affirming Hon. Moses Adebisi because Nigeria urgently needs ethical, competent and inclusive leadership,” Benson said. He said the party believed leadership must be anchored on integrity, competence, equity and genuine commitment to citizens’ welfare.
“Adebisi represents the kind of leadership direction we believe Nigeria needs at this critical moment,” he said, adding that “The DLA is poised to ensure that ethical leadership is put in place for good governance, inclusivity, competence, equity and national development. Benson described the unanimous affirmation as a political awakening for the DLA and an important step towards repositioning it ahead of 2027.
“We want Nigerians to know that there is a credible alternative that is prepared to offer a different leadership paradigm,” Benson said, adding that governance should create opportunities for all Nigerians, irrespective of their background, age or gender.
“Our party believes in inclusivity, social justice and youth development, with a strong commitment to gender equality. We believe that every Nigerian must have a stake in the governance of the country,” Benson said.
Benson appealed to DLA members and supporters to unite behind Adebisi and strengthen the party’s structures before the general elections. He also urged Nigerians seeking an alternative political platform to consider the DLA as a party capable of addressing leadership challenges.
“The DLA is the only credible alternative Nigeria has and the only party that can salvage our dear country,” he said.
Benson said the party’s message remained centred on leadership founded on competence, integrity, justice and inclusivity. He congratulated Adebisi on his unanimous affirmation and urged him to uphold the party’s ideals while preparing for the presidential campaign. The chairman expressed optimism that Adebisi’s emergence would strengthen the party’s mobilisation efforts and broaden its support base.
For the YPP, its erstwhile candidate, whose name was cleared and published by INEC, was substituted with ex-Labour Party (LP) presidential candidate Peter Agada. Zugwai-Chukwu, who is the National Woman Leader of YPP, was unanimously adopted as the YPP’s sole presidential candidate at the party’s national convention in Abuja on May 30, 2026,
Agada who was formally affirmed at a presidential and vice-presidential substitution primary election held by the party in Abuja on Friday, August 21, 2026 was denied participation in the LP presidential primary in June this year. Also substituted along with was Ndidi Keys, who has become the YPP’s Vice Presidential candidate. “
“Today is not about me. Today is about 140 million Nigerians that the IMF says are living at or below the national poverty line,” an elated Agada told his members. “ Food insecurity, internal displacement, and youth unemployment are major concerns; 35 million persons are hungry,” and about 3.6 million Nigerians remain internally displaced because of conflict and insecurity. We will not manage poverty. We will attack the very causes of poverty,” Agada said.
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Expanding on his ideology, Agada said, “I have a thriving professional career. My business has opportunities for international expansion, including in the United Kingdom. I could have concentrated exclusively on expanding my business internationally. But I began asking myself difficult questions.“What happens to Nigeria’s younger generation between now and 2031? What happens to millions of children currently outside the formal education system? What happens to unemployment? What happens to insecurity? Will they still believe in Nigeria four or five years from now? Those questions disturb me,” he said.
Agada described the centrepiece of his economic agenda 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. “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.
The YPP candidate also ruled out 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. “I cannot enter a coalition whose philosophy contradicts those fundamentals,” he added 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.
He thanked the delegates and party leaders at the substitution programme. He reflected on his disqualification from the LP primary as a blessing in disguise, as he had been found worthy by YPP in clear demonstration of his qualities and potential as a leader who can solve the problems facing millions of Nigerians.
“A few months ago, some tried to shut the door on 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.
Agada challenged other presidential aspirants to go beyond campaign promises and explain how they would implement their proposed policies.
“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, adding that, “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. On education and healthcare, Agada said both sectors must be treated as fundamental responsibilities of government. “When millions of Nigerian children remain outside school, we are creating a future economic, security and national-development crisis of frightening proportions,” he said. He also said his Labour Direct initiative would continue under the YPP, describing it as an effort to connect government, labour, production, technology, accountability and citizens. “I remain committed to the working class and working people of Nigeria,” he said.
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