2027: APC unveils manifesto, defends Tinubu’s reforms amid economic hardship

The APC says another four years under President Bola Tinubu will consolidate economic reforms and deliver shared prosperity, while acknowledging that many Nigerians have yet to feel the benefits.

The All Progressives Congress (APC) on Tuesday unveiled its manifesto for the 2027 presidential election, defending President Bola Tinubu’s economic reforms while promising to translate them into improved living conditions for Nigerians.

However, Mr Tinubu was absent from the launch, where senior government officials and party members presented his administration’s policies as the foundation for the country’s economic recovery and future prosperity.

Speaking at the event, Femi Gbajabiamila, chief of staff (COS) to the president, described the manifesto as a contract between the government and Nigerians, saying the administration recognised that the benefits of its reforms had yet to reach many households.

“At the heart of this manifesto is an abiding conviction that every Nigerian should be able to share. Your country should give your best efforts a fair chance,” he said.

Mr Gbajabiamila acknowledged the economic difficulties Nigerians have experienced since Mr Tinubu assumed office in May 2023, particularly following the removal of the petrol subsidy and changes to the foreign exchange system.

He said the administration had deliberately confronted longstanding economic problems, despite the immediate consequences for households.

“Now, those decisions have placed real pressure on households. We must speak honestly about that experience because the people living through it deserve to be heard, and nobody should have to pretend that it’s easy,” he said.

He, however, defended the decisions, arguing that leaving the problems unresolved would have further weakened the country’s capacity to invest in its future.

According to him, Mr Tinubu chose to govern as a leader rather than as a politician concerned primarily about the next election.

“The difference between a politician and a leader is that whereas the politician thinks about the next election, the leader thinks about the next generation. That’s exactly what President Bola Ahmed did,” he said.

Mr Gbajabiamila, a former Speaker of the House of Representatives, said the new manifesto was intended to ensure that the opportunities created by the reforms translated into tangible improvements in the lives of Nigerians.

He identified the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND), the government’s tax reforms and the Electricity Act as examples of policies intended to expand opportunities and improve public services.

He said the manifesto also commits the APC to halving the number of out-of-school children by 2031, installing seven million additional electricity meters and expanding health insurance coverage.

The COS said the party would also commit to publishing targets, identifying officials responsible for delivering them and regularly reporting progress to the public.

He urged Nigerians to scrutinise the document and hold the party accountable for its commitments.

“For those of us in public office, this is an obligation to work. The president’s determination must be matched by performance through government,” he said.

He added that the APC would seek Nigerians’ mandate in 2027 to consolidate the reforms and extend their benefits to more households.

Also speaking, the Minister of Solid Minerals Development and spokesperson for the APC Presidential Campaign Council, Dele Alake, described the unveiling as evidence of the party’s commitment to presenting its policies and programmes to Nigerians.

He said political parties had a responsibility to articulate their aspirations, objectives and reasons for seeking public office.

Mr Alake described the APC as Nigeria’s most organised and purposeful political party, arguing that no civilian administration since independence had undertaken reforms as extensive as those introduced by Mr Tinubu.

He challenged critics to a public debate over his assessment, insisting that the administration had confronted structural economic problems that previous governments had avoided.

“No other leader in the history of this country has looked at the structural economic problems of this country, and decided to take the bulls by the horns and confront those problems,” he said.

He cited the removal of the petrol subsidy and the changes to the foreign exchange system as examples of the president’s willingness to take politically difficult decisions.

According to him, the subsidy regime had benefited powerful interests through smuggling, over-invoicing and other practices at the expense of the country’s development.

He also argued that the previous foreign exchange system enabled individuals with privileged access to government officials and the Central Bank of Nigeria to obtain dollars at official rates and make substantial profits without contributing to productive economic activities.

Mr Alake said the Tinubu administration had taken steps to address these distortions, adding that the reforms had begun to attract recognition from international rating agencies and investors.

He rejected criticism that the government’s policies were benefiting wealthy Nigerians at the expense of poorer households, arguing that businesses and wealthy investors were important sources of employment and economic growth.

He also cited NELFUND as an example of the administration’s efforts to deliver direct benefits to ordinary Nigerians.

The minister also highlighted the solid minerals sector as an example of what he described as the impact of the administration’s economic diversification policies.