Senior economist at SPM Professionals, Paul Alaje, has urged Nigerians to assess presidential candidates in the 2027 general election based on their ability to improve purchasing power, reduce living costs and make essential services more affordable.
Alaje said voters should prioritise candidates whose economic policies would enable Nigerians to buy more with their earnings, rather than be swayed by promises of higher wages without corresponding improvements in real income.
He made the remarks on Channels Television’s Sunday Politics while discussing the economic policies Nigerians should consider when evaluating candidates ahead of the 2027 presidential election.
“Any candidate who is telling you that the money in your pocket will buy more, will improve more, and will afford your rent — that is the candidate you should vote for,” he said.
The economist said an increase in nominal earnings would not necessarily translate into better living conditions if prices continued to rise faster than incomes.
Explaining the concept of purchasing power, Alaje said Nigerians should consider what their earnings could buy and whether proposed economic policies would improve their ability to meet household needs.
“You can earn more in naira terms. Like labour wants more money, you can. But will it buy more in real terms?” he asked.
He said voters should examine candidates’ plans for making education more affordable, improving access to healthcare and addressing other pressures on household budgets.
According to him, the central question should be which candidate can improve the real value of Nigerians’ earnings and make essential services accessible to more people.
Alaje also warned that economic policies that fail to prioritise productivity could undermine the country’s economic performance.
“Anybody who is not discussing productivity is going to run the economy down,” he said.
He argued that productivity and other economic fundamentals must support reforms if they are to deliver sustainable improvements in living standards.
2027: Alaje urges Tinubu to address electricity
The economist also called on President Bola Tinubu to take urgent steps to address Nigeria’s electricity challenges, describing power supply as a critical factor in improving economic performance.
“You need to do something urgent and critical about electricity,” he told the President.
Alaje said countries that had successfully implemented reforms similar to Nigeria’s had underlying economic fundamentals that helped them achieve results.
“Major economies that adopted the kind of reforms we are adopting and have results, they have fundamentals working for them,” he said.
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