FEATURED
Tinubu Unveils 2027 Manifesto, Promises 78,000 Security Personnel, 10,000MW Power
The Presidency has urged Nigerians to assess the All Progressives Congress based on its past and current manifestoes, as well as its performance since assuming office in 2023.
The ruling party also unveiled its 2027 manifesto, promising to prioritise the protection of lives and property, create jobs, improve electricity supply and expand access to healthcare if President Bola Tinubu secures re-election.
The manifesto, titled From Reforms to Prosperity, was unveiled on Tuesday by the APC Presidential Campaign Council ahead of the January 16, 2027 presidential election.
Speaking at the event, the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, described the manifesto as a binding agreement between the party and Nigerians, stressing that the administration would be accountable for its promises.
He said, “A manifesto, in its strictest sense, is simply a contract between the people and their leaders. It is an inviolable contract, and we take the strict interpretation of what a manifesto represents as gospel under this administration.”
Gbajabiamila acknowledged that the government’s economic reforms had placed significant pressure on households, noting that Nigerians should not be expected to pretend that living conditions were easy.
“Nobody should have to pretend that life is easy at the moment,” he said.
However, he defended Tinubu’s decision to remove the fuel subsidy and unify the foreign exchange market, arguing that leaving the challenges unresolved would have further weakened the country’s capacity to invest in its future.
According to him, the difference between a politician and a leader is that while the former thinks about the next election, the latter considers the next generation.
The manifesto is built around four pillars: a secure and resilient nation; improved quality of life and affordable living; energy, infrastructure and economic growth; and effective and accountable governance.
These priorities are aligned with the eight focus areas of the administration’s Renewed Hope Agenda and anchored on macroeconomic stability, the rule of law, institutional capacity and national cohesion.
Under its targets for 2031, the APC pledged to increase electricity generation towards 10,000 megawatts, achieve annual economic growth of six per cent and reduce youth unemployment and the number of out-of-school children by half.
The party also promised to recruit 20,000 additional teachers, expand health insurance coverage to 40 per cent of Nigerians and ensure that at least 90 per cent of primary healthcare centres were fully functional, compared with the current 53 per cent.
It further pledged to facilitate the construction of 200,000 affordable homes through the Tinubu Mass Social Housing Scheme, the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria and licensed private developers.
Gbajabiamila disclosed that the government also planned to install seven million additional electricity meters.
He said the manifesto would make the administration’s performance measurable by requiring the publication of targets, identification of officials responsible for implementation and regular public updates on progress.
According to him, Nigerians should be able to determine areas where the government is delivering on its promises and those where it is falling short.
The former Speaker of the House of Representatives added that the APC would seek another mandate in 2027 based on its record and commitment to national development.
In his remarks, the Minister of Budget and Economic Planning and Chairman of the APC 2027 Manifesto Unveiling Committee, Atiku Bagudu, acknowledged that the administration had recorded progress but admitted that more needed to be done.
He said that although the private sector had acknowledged some of Tinubu’s achievements during the last Nigerian Economic Summit, the government would not be satisfied until ordinary Nigerians felt the impact of economic growth.
Bagudu recalled an incident during Tinubu’s campaign in Zamfara State when the President directed a State House official to assist a struggling carrot seller, describing it as evidence of his concern for ordinary citizens.
Also speaking, the Minister of Solid Minerals Development and spokesperson for the APC Presidential Campaign Council, Dele Alake, defended the removal of fuel subsidy and the unification of the foreign exchange market.
He said Tinubu implemented the reforms despite their potential political consequences, adding that powerful interests that benefited from the previous arrangements had resisted the changes.
Alake alleged that individuals with connections to the Central Bank of Nigeria and senior government officials had previously accessed millions of dollars at preferential official exchange rates without making meaningful contributions to production.
He argued that the reforms were necessary to address distortions in the economy and establish a more sustainable financial system.
Meanwhile, the Minister of Information, Mohammed Idris, dismissed claims that the administration’s reforms had benefited only a privileged few.
He cited the construction of the Abuja-Kano road and the operations of the Nigerian Education Loan Fund as examples of programmes benefiting Nigerians irrespective of their political affiliations.
Idris said about 1.6 million young Nigerians had benefited from NELFUND, describing the initiative as evidence of the government’s efforts to expand access to higher education.
He also claimed that travellers using the Abuja-Kaduna road no longer faced the same level of security concerns previously associated with the route.
The minister further said Nigeria’s removal from the Financial Action Task Force grey list and the reported decline in headline and food inflation were indications that the economy was gradually recovering.
He appealed to the media to prioritise national interest in reporting the administration’s policies and programmes.
Meanwhile, the APC Presidential Campaign Council promised to strengthen the country’s security architecture through the recruitment of 28,000 additional military personnel and 50,000 police officers.
The Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment and Deputy Director of the council’s Directorate of Manifesto and Policy Development, Jumoke Oduwole, disclosed the security commitments at the unveiling.
She said the party would prioritise the protection of lives and property if Tinubu won the 2027 presidential election.
The manifesto also promises to complete and equip four new Army divisions in Makurdi, Ilorin, Jalingo and Benin City.
It further pledges to sustain intelligence-led military operations against insurgents and kidnapping networks, with the aim of dismantling their bases and operational structures.
To tackle criminal activities in forests and farming communities, the APC said it would deploy trained Forest Guards, Agro-Rangers and Mining Marshals to protect agricultural areas, grazing routes, forest reserves and mineral resources.
Vanguard reports that, Oduwole said the administration’s ambition was to build a secure Nigeria where citizens could live, work and pursue their aspirations without fear.
