The Citizens Democratic Alliance (CDA) has unveiled an ambitious governance blueprint centred on constitutional restructuring, state policing, technology-driven governance and economic reforms, declaring that it is ready to offer Nigerians what it described as a credible alternative to the country’s current political order.
Speaking at a press conference on Tuesday, the party’s National Chairman, Citizen Tamunotonye Samuel Solomon, said a recent Federal High Court judgment had cleared all legal hurdles surrounding the party’s registration, allowing it to focus fully on nation-building.
“We are not presenting slogans. We are presenting ideas,” Solomon said, adding that the CDA’s manifesto and governance blueprint would serve as its social contract with Nigerians.
The party blamed many of Nigeria’s challenges on what it described as an over-centralised federal structure, arguing that excessive concentration of power has fuelled inequality, inefficiency, insecurity and declining public trust.
To address this, Solomon said the CDA would pursue true federalism, including asymmetrical federalism, alongside constitutional reforms that devolve greater powers to subnational governments while protecting national unity and minority rights.
On governance, the party proposed replacing Nigeria’s presidential system with a mixed parliamentary model featuring a ceremonial president as head of state and an elected prime minister as head of government accountable to parliament. It also advocated a Mixed Member Proportional Representation electoral system and the replacement of the Senate with a leaner Federation Council.
The CDA also outlined plans to strengthen anti-corruption institutions through transparency and technology, accelerate industrialisation, modernise infrastructure, expand agriculture, deepen the digital economy and support small and medium-sized enterprises.
Solomon said artificial intelligence, digital public services, broadband expansion and digital rights protection would form the backbone of the party’s governance strategy.
The party further pledged reforms in education, healthcare, affordable housing and security, including the creation of state and community police, decentralised intelligence gathering and technology-driven policing.
Reaffirming the party’s ideological foundation, Solomon said the CDA was built on the principles of liberty, equality and unity, insisting that it was “not built around personalities” but around policies aimed at creating a secure, prosperous and inclusive Nigeria.