By Chiamaka Egwu
The Presidency has urged Nigerians to scrutinise the All Progressives Congress (APC)’s manifestoes and judge the ruling party by the promises it has fulfilled since assuming office in 2023, as it unveiled its 2027 campaign blueprint, titled From Reforms to Prosperity.
The Chief of Staff to President Bola Tinubu, Femi Gbajabiamila, made the appeal on Tuesday in Abuja, describing the manifesto as a binding contract between the government and the electorate.
He acknowledged that the administration’s economic reforms had imposed real hardship on households but insisted that the decision to tackle longstanding structural problems was necessary to secure the country’s future.
“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,” he said.
Gbajabiamila admitted that Nigerians were experiencing difficult times, adding: “Nobody should have to pretend that life is easy at the moment.”
Defending the administration’s removal of fuel subsidy and unification of the foreign exchange market, he said President Tinubu inherited a heavy subsidy burden and a distorted foreign exchange system in 2023.
“Leaving those problems untouched would have continued to weaken our ability to invest in the future. The difference between a politician and a leader is that while a politician thinks about the next election, a leader thinks about the next generation. And that is exactly what President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has demonstrated,” he said.
The manifesto is built around four pillars: a secure and resilient nation; better quality and affordable living for Nigerians; energy, infrastructure and economic growth; and effective and accountable governance.
These are linked to the eight priority areas of the Renewed Hope Agenda, with implementation anchored on macroeconomic stability, the rule of law, institutional capability and national cohesion.
Among its major targets for 2031 are increasing electricity generation towards 10,000 megawatts, achieving annual economic growth of six per cent, and halving youth unemployment and the number of out-of-school children.
The document also promises 20,000 additional teachers, expansion of health insurance coverage from more than 23 million enrollees to 40 per cent of Nigerians, and functional primary healthcare centres in at least 90 per cent of facilities, against the current 53 per cent.
It further targets the delivery of 200,000 homes through the Tinubu Mass Social Housing Scheme, Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria mortgages and licensed private developers, with progress tracked through a public dashboard.
The government also pledged to install seven million additional electricity meters.
Gbajabiamila said the manifesto would make the administration accountable for its performance through publicly accessible targets and progress reports.
“The manifesto commits us to publishing targets, identifying those responsible and reporting progress to the public. Citizens should be able to see where delivery is succeeding and where it is falling short,” he said.
On the 2027 general election, he said the APC would seek another mandate based on its performance and commitments.
“A party asking to continue in government must be prepared to answer to the people whose mandate it seeks.
“The child studying tonight should have a fair chance of becoming the professional she hopes to be. The man opening his workshop tomorrow should be able to grow beyond the struggle to keep it open. Their ambitions deserve a country organised to help them succeed,” he stated.
Also speaking, the Minister of Budget and Economic Planning and Chairman of the APC 2027 Manifesto Unveiling Committee, Atiku Bagudu, said the administration had recorded progress but acknowledged that more needed to be done to ensure Nigerians felt the benefits of its policies.
He cited the Nigerian Economic Summit, where he said private sector participants acknowledged the President’s performance.
“But, as we all know, even before anybody tells him, Mr President acknowledges that we have done well. However, until we deliver and ensure that every Nigerian feels the impact of prosperity, especially hardworking Nigerians and those who need support, we still have work to do,” Bagudu said.
The Minister of Solid Minerals and spokesperson of the APC Presidential Campaign Council, Dele Alake, said the removal of fuel subsidy and unification of the foreign exchange market demonstrated Tinubu’s willingness to undertake difficult reforms despite their political consequences.
“Regardless of the political consequences, or even the President’s own political situation and aspirations, he carried out genuine structural reforms,” he said.
Alake alleged that powerful interests benefiting from the former subsidy regime were resisting the reforms.
“It takes a man of courage, a man of grit, brains and brawn, to withstand the pressure of the cabal, which would fight back, and they are fighting back over the removal of fuel subsidy,” he said.
On foreign exchange, he alleged that some individuals with connections to the Central Bank of Nigeria and senior government officials had benefited from access to millions of dollars at official rates without contributing to production.
The Minister of Information, Mohammed Idris, also defended the administration’s policies against criticism that their benefits were limited to a few Nigerians.
He argued that public infrastructure and social intervention programmes were accessible irrespective of political affiliation or economic status.
“When the road between Abuja and Kano is being constructed, I am not aware that anybody needs to show his ID card to prove that he belongs to the APC, is a rich man or belongs to a particular class before he can use it,” he said.
On security, Idris claimed that travelling along the Abuja-Kaduna road had become safer, adding that motorists could now travel towards Kano without the fear previously associated with banditry, terrorism and kidnapping along the route.
He also cited the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND), saying 1.6 million young Nigerians and their parents had benefited from the initiative.
“So, if you are looking for an example of Nigerians benefiting from these reforms, the 1.6 million young men and women and their parents are there. Nobody asks questions about their political affiliation,” he said.
Idris further cited Nigeria’s removal from the Financial Action Task Force grey list and declining headline and food inflation as evidence of progress.
“That is why we are saying today that, yes, we have laid the foundation for reforms, and we are progressively moving towards a period of prosperity. As I said, by 2031, it will be almost impossible for anybody to reverse this course,” he said.
He urged the media to put national interest above political differences in assessing the administration.
“You do not have to like the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. You do not have to like him, but all of us must like Nigeria,” he said.
