Pope Leo XIV: A Prayer of Gratitude and Hope Yesterday, I kept Pope Leo XIV, the head of the Catholic Church and Sovereign of Vatican City, in my earnest prayers as he underwent surgery. I am grateful for the encouraging reports of his successful surgery and recovery. I thank God for seeing the Holy Father through this procedure and pray for his complete recovery, renewed strength and good health. May God continue to guide his medical team, sustain him in this period of recovery and grant him the grace to return fully to his pastoral duties. A New Nigeria is POssible. -PO

My Visit to the Nigerian Air Force Facility Further to my message yesterday, I visited the Nigerian Air Force facility in Abuja today to formally sign the condolence register following the unfortunate aircraft crash. The visit gave me another opportunity to reflect on the sacrifices made daily by the men and women of our Armed Forces and other security agencies in the line of duty. These courageous Nigerians put their lives on the line to defend our nation and protect our people. We must never take their service and sacrifice for granted. I extend my deepest condolences to the Nigerian Air Force and to the families, colleagues, and loved ones of those who lost their lives. May God grant eternal rest to the departed and give their families the strength and fortitude to bear this painful loss. May God continue to protect all those who serve our country. -PO

Building a Better Nigeria Through Service. Yesterday in Lagos, I attended a dinner organised for Lagos NDC candidates and hosted by the Lagos Obidient Movement. I used the occasion to remind the candidates that seeking public office is not about titles, positions, or the privileges associated with them. It is about accepting the responsibility to serve and committing ourselves to building a better Nigeria. Having witnessed the suffering and hardship that our people continue to endure, we must remain conscious of the tremendous responsibility placed in our hands. Nigerians deserve leaders who are accessible, actively engaged, accountable, and willing to lead by example. Our politics must establish a standard for others to follow. It must therefore be founded on competence, character, capacity, compassion, and a genuine commitment to the common good. A better Nigeria is within reach, but achieving it requires leaders who are prepared to lead by example and remain accessible. A New Nigeria is POssible. -PO

My Vision for a Productive and Prosperous Nigeria Today, being the 1st of July, 2026, I wish to humbly recall that when I decided to contest for the office of President of Nigeria, I pledged to place Nigeria on the path of unity and national transformation. Now, as the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) candidate, I will, in the coming weeks and months, provide insights into the roadmap that I am confident will help curb abuse in government, halt the decline in the quality of life of Nigerians at all levels, and usher in an era of unity, peace, sustained progress, and prosperity. This vision is anchored on a commitment to unity, inclusion, social justice, equity, and the freedom of every citizen to pursue lawful dreams. Central to this proposed roadmap are significant reforms in education and healthcare, which are at the core of human capital development. Robust human capital is indispensable infrastructure for national progress. It serves as the fundamental capital upon which daily life, economic expansion, and the delivery of essential public services depend. These are foundational areas that we must reform with energy and determination if we are to reap the demographic dividend of our youthful population. From the outset of my presidency, we will establish a task force dedicated to drastically reducing the menace of out-of-school children. We will place greater emphasis on Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) to support our drive for massive industrialisation, anchored on our agricultural endowments and value addition across value chains organised around industrial parks to be located in development zones across the geopolitical regions of the country. Funding and improving the equipment of TVET institutions, through partnerships among government, the private sector, and social entrepreneurs such as faith-based educators, will facilitate apprenticeship opportunities in the private sector, similar to the German dual education system. The situation in which unemployment remains high while Nigerian entrepreneurs establish businesses elsewhere because skilled labour is scarce must be confronted decisively. Doing so is essential for the common good and for facilitating our transition from a consumption-driven economy to a production-driven one. Character and civic education, emphasising the values that foster trust - an essential ingredient for enterprise and leadership - as well as shared national values, will receive significant attention within the tripartite approach to governance that we propose. A New Nigeria is POssible. -PO

Fellow Nigerians, good morning. I woke up this morning after my church service with a deeply reflective heart, and despite every constraint, I felt compelled to share these thoughts with you. Many people do not truly understand the silent pains some of us carry daily—the private struggles, emotional burdens, and quiet battles we face while trying to survive and serve sincerely in difficult circumstances. We now live in an environment that has become increasingly toxic, where the very system that should protect and create opportunities for decent living often works against the people—a society where intimidation, insecurity, endless scrutiny, and discouragement have become normal. More painful is when some of those you associate with, believing you would find understanding and solidarity among them, become part of the pressure you face. Some who publicly identify with you privately distance themselves or join in unfair criticism. We live in a society where humility is mistaken for weakness, respect is seen as a lack of courage, and compassion is treated as foolishness—a system where treating people equally is questioned simply because you refuse to worship status, tribe, class, or power. Personally, I have never looked down on anyone except to uplift them. I have never used privilege, position, or resources to oppress others, intimidate the weak, or make people feel small. To me, leadership has always been about service, sacrifice, and helping others rise. Let me state clearly: my decision to leave the ADC is not because our highly respected Chairman, Senator David Mark, treated me badly, nor because my leader and elder brother, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, or any other respected leaders did anything personally wrong to me. I will continue to respect them. However, the same Nigerian state and its agents that created unnecessary crises and hostility within the Labour Party that forced me to leave now appear to be finding their way into the ADC, with endless court cases, internal battles, suspicion, and division, instead of focusing on deeper national problems and playing politics built more on control and exclusion than on service and nation-building. Even within spaces where one labours sincerely, one is sometimes treated like an outsider in one’s own home. You and your team become easy targets for every failure, frustration, or misunderstanding, as though honest contribution has become a favour being tolerated rather than appreciated. And when you choose to leave so that those you are leaving can have peace, and you step out into the cold, you are still maligned and your character is questioned. Despite all your efforts to continue working for a better Nigeria and engaging people with sincerity and goodwill, those who do not wish you well continue to attack your character and question your intentions. There are moments I ask God in prayer: Why is doing the right thing often misconstrued as wrongdoing in our country? Why is integrity not valued? Why is the prudent management of resources, especially when invested in critical areas like education and healthcare, wrongly labelled as stinginess? Why are humility and obedience to the rule of law often taken to be weakness rather than discipline? Let me assure all that I am not desperate to be President, Vice President, or Senate President. I am desperate to see a society that can console a mother whose child has been kidnapped or killed while going to school or work. I am desperate to see a Nigeria where people will not live in IDP camps but in their homes. I am desperate for a country where Nigerian citizens do not go to bed hungry, not knowing where their next meal will come from. Yet, despite everything, I remain resolute. I firmly believe that Nigeria can still become a country with competent leadership based on justice, compassion, and equal opportunity for all. A new Nigeria is POssible. -PO