APC unveils 4-pillar manifesto for Tinubu’s second term bid

The All Progressives Congress Presidential Campaign Council (APC-PCC) has hailed President Bola Tinubu for demonstrating courage and statesmanship in tackling Nigeria’s economic challenges, particularly through the removal of fuel subsidy and the unification of the foreign exchange market, despite the potential political consequences attached to the decision.

The position of the party was made known on Tuesday at the Musa Yar’adua Conference Centre in Abuja by the APC-PCC spokesperson and Minister of Solid Minerals, Dele Alake, at the unveiling of the party’s 2027 manifesto tagged ‘From Reforms to Prosperity’.

In the meantime, APC has released a four-pillar manifesto outlining President Bola Tinubu’s agenda for a second term in office, with promises to tackle insecurity, reduce the cost of living, expand infrastructure and strengthen governance between 2027 and 2031.

The manifesto, titled Renewed Hope Agenda 2.0, was made available to newsmen on Tuesday.

However, former Vice-President and embattled African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, has urged the World Bank to reject the Federal Government’s proposed $500 million loan.

The APC’s document consolidates the eight-point agenda of the Tinubu administration into four strategic pillars: Secure and Resilient Nation; Better Quality and More Affordable Life for Every Nigerian; Energy, Infrastructure and Economic Growth; and Effective and Accountable Governance.

The party said the new framework was designed to build on the economic reforms and other policies implemented during Tinubu’s first term, with aim to improve on them and living conditions of Nigerians.

In his message in the manifesto, Tinubu said his administration had taken difficult decisions since assuming office in 2023, including the removal of petrol subsidy, unification of the foreign exchange rate and tax reforms.

He said the measures were necessary to strengthen the country’s economic foundations.

“When you entrusted me with the mandate to renew hope in 2023, I offered honesty over easy promises. We confronted long-standing economic realities head-on,” the President said.

Tinubu added that the next phase of his administration would focus on translating economic stabilisation into tangible benefits for households.

“The coming years must focus on tangible improvements: the food on our tables, the power in our homes, the security of our families, and the dignity of meaningful work,” he said.

The first pillar, Secure and Resilient Nation, focuses on tackling terrorism, banditry, kidnapping and other security threats.

The APC promised to establish and equip four additional Army divisions in Makurdi, Ilorin, Jalingo and Benin City, recruit and train 28,000 additional military personnel and deploy 50,000 newly recruited police officers.

The manifesto also proposed expanding police recruitment towards a ratio of one officer to 400 citizens, introducing body cameras and digital policing systems, completing electronic surveillance of mapped borders and strengthening community policing.

Under the second pillar, Better Quality and More Affordable Life for Every Nigerian, the party promised to address the cost of living, improve access to education and healthcare, create employment opportunities and expand social protection.

It said the administration would work towards halving the number of out-of-school children by 2031, recruit 20,000 additional teachers and increase health insurance coverage to 40 per cent of Nigerians.

The manifesto also pledged to reduce out-of-pocket healthcare expenditure from 71 per cent to below 50 per cent, expand the number of functional primary healthcare centres to 90 per cent and establish the Tinubu Mass Social Housing Scheme across the country’s 774 local government areas.

The party said it would work towards delivering 200,000 homes during the next term through the housing scheme, mortgage financing and private developers.

On employment, it promised to halve youth unemployment by 2031, provide skills training for two million young people and expand digital literacy programmes to reach 30 million Nigerians.

The third pillar, Energy, Infrastructure and Economic Growth, focuses on improving electricity supply, transportation, agriculture, industrialisation and investment.

The party said it would scale available electricity generation towards 10,000 megawatts, extend electricity metering, strengthen transmission and distribution networks and expand clean energy access to underserved communities.

It also promised to establish at least one flagship industrial hub in each of the six geopolitical zones, more than double non-oil export earnings and create one million export-linked jobs for young Nigerians through talent and services exports by 2030.

The manifesto further projected that annual economic growth would accelerate to six per cent, while promising to complete priority road, rail, port and airport projects to improve trade and reduce transportation costs.

Under the fourth pillar, Effective and Accountable Governance, the APC pledged to strengthen the justice system, fight corruption, improve public service delivery and deepen local government autonomy.

It promised to extend digital case management to magistrate courts and complete the digitalisation of court processes nationwide by 2029.

The party also pledged to publish allocations to all 774 local government councils, establish clear performance and accountability standards and move federal ministries and agencies towards end-to-end digital public services.

On accountability, the manifesto stated that every commitment would have a baseline, target, cost, responsible official and reporting date, with progress published through a public delivery tracker.

“A manifesto is only as strong as the promises a citizen can check,” the document stated, adding that delivery would be reported through public dashboards and verified by independent bodies.

It also outlined four measures for implementing the commitments, including prioritising the recovery of public resources, completing existing projects before starting new ones, attaching measurable targets to promises and allowing citizens to monitor performance.

Tinubu, in his message, acknowledged that the administration’s work was not complete, while asking Nigerians to support its next phase.

“The work is far from complete, and I ask once more for your partnership. Let us turn these hard-won reforms into lasting prosperity and build the Nigeria of our highest aspirations,” he said.

The manifesto also listed several economic indicators which it presented as achievements of the administration since 2023. These included foreign reserves of $55.3bn as of September 2026, GDP growth of 4.43 per cent in the second quarter of 2026 and inflation of 14.63 per cent in September 2026.

It further claimed that monthly Federation Account Allocation Committee distributions had increased, with N18.72tn shared in the first half of 2026, compared with N6.76tn in the corresponding period of 2023.

This was just as Atiku accused President Bola Tinubu’s administration of attempting to saddle its successor with fresh debt shortly before leaving office.

Atiku said Tinubu had no right to commit the country to additional borrowing in the final days of his tenure, warning that the proposed loan could place financial constraints on the incoming administration and future generations of Nigerians.

The former vice-president stated this in a statement issued by Phrank Shaibu, director of strategic communication of the ADC Presidential Campaign Council.

He said: “No outgoing president has the right to burden his successor with fresh debt days before handing over power.

“Taking loans as if you were a drunken sailor is a road to economic bondage, a second slavery. If this government is determined to mortgage Nigeria’s future and place our country at the mercy of creditors, we will not accept it.

“On January 16, Nigerians will vote for a new direction: a government that puts affordable living first, not one that keeps pursuing loans whose terms and consequences have not been clearly explained to the people.

“The Tinubu administration’s latest move is a preemptive attempt to lock Nigeria into a path of economic instability, even after Nigerians have roundly rejected its poverty-inflicting reforms. A government cannot use its final days in office to bind the country and make governance more difficult for its successor.”

Atiku further questioned the timing of the proposed facility, noting that the World Bank had scheduled it for consideration on May 25, 2027, just four days before the next presidential inauguration.

He said: “President Tinubu has no business committing the country to fresh debt as he prepares to leave office.

“As the Swahili proverb warns, ‘If you borrow a man’s legs, you will go where he directs.’ A leader who borrows on his way out leaves his successor walking on the lender’s legs, constrained by obligations and choices the people did not make.

“We call on the World Bank not to approve this proposed loan on the timetable now being contemplated. Nigerians deserve full disclosure of its terms, risks and repayment obligations, and the opportunity to scrutinise a commitment that will outlast the administration pursuing it.

“I will not accept it. The Atiku administration will commence on May 29, 2027, and we will not begin our government by taking another loan. We will begin with a commitment to responsible leadership, fiscal discipline and the protection of Nigeria’s future.”

Reports emerged on Monday that the Federal Government was seeking a $500 million World Bank loan to establish an infrastructure financing platform, with the proposed approval date falling four days before the inauguration of Nigeria’s next president on May 29, 2027.

According to the World Bank’s Initial Project Information Document, the proposed facility is part of a broader $3.85 billion infrastructure financing initiative designed to attract private sector investment into critical sectors of the Nigerian economy.

The initiative, known as the Nigeria Infrastructure Financing and De-Risking Platform for Growth and Jobs (INFRAGROW), is expected to address infrastructure financing challenges by mobilising private capital and reducing investment risks.

The document, prepared and updated on November 4, 2026, identifies the Federal Ministry of Finance as the borrower and the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA) as the implementing agency.

The World Bank has scheduled the project’s technical design review for January 21, 2027, while its estimated approval date is May 25, 2027.

Speaking on the reforms, Alake said Tinubu prioritised national interest over personal political ambition in implementing difficult economic reforms, arguing that subsidy removal and forex reforms required courage and determination given the entrenched interests that benefited from the old arrangements.

“Regardless of the political consequences, or even the President’s own political situation and aspirations, he carried out genuine structural reforms. And that is the kind of person Bola Ahmed Tinubu is. He does not think of himself; he thinks of the nation, and that is what a statesman should do,” he said.

Alake added that ordinary politicians think of the next election and avoid contentious policies that could mar their political aspirations, but Tinubu did not allow fear of pain, public unease or political cost to stop him from confronting the problems crippling Nigeria when he was elected.

“He did not think, ‘Oh, these policies might bring some pain or challenges or cause some uneasiness among the public, so they could affect my political aspirations. I won’t implement them.’ No, he didn’t do that. He put the nation first, before his own desires,” Alake said.

He noted that fuel subsidy had been one of the pillars of Nigeria before 2023, and though its removal might superficially look simple, it was not easy, because of the forces built around it.

Alake alleged that powerful interests had exploited the subsidy regime through smuggling, fraudulent claims and other illicit practices, and were now resisting the Federal Government’s decision about removing it.

“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.

Alake said the same applied to the foreign exchange situation, where Nigeria had multiple exchange rates and operations that enriched a few without any contribution to production.

“Some people would sit in their gardens or backyards without lifting a finger, simply because they had connections with CBN authorities or top government officials. With just a phone call, they would obtain millions of dollars at the official rate and, without leaving their seats, send the money to the Bureau de Change. In the twinkle of an eye, they would become billionaires while sitting in their backyards, through speculation,” Alake said.

He stated that the result was a free fall of the naira, but President Tinubu looked the problem in the face, confronted it and normalised the situation.

Upon assuming office on May 29, 2023, Tinubu announced the removal of fuel subsidy and, weeks later, introduced the unification of the naira exchange rate, two major reforms that have had far-reaching effects on the livelihoods of Nigerians.