What are the political parties offering Nigerians? asks SAMUEL AKPOBOME OROVWUJE
As Nigeria approaches the 2027 general elections, the most important political conversation should extend beyond personalities, alliances and the calculations of the treacherous political elites. It should focus on the everyday economic reality of Nigerians: poverty, food insecurity, unemployment, inadequate public services and the rising cost of living.
The scale of the challenge is difficult to ignore. Nigeria’s National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) 2022 Multidimensional Poverty Index found that 133 million Nigerians, representing 63 per cent of the population, were multidimensionally poor. The index goes beyond income to capture deprivation in education, health, living standards, employment and access to basic services. Rural Nigerians were particularly affected, with multidimensional poverty recorded at 72 per cent compared with 42 per cent in urban areas.
For the 2027 elections, therefore, the central question should be straightforward: where do Nigeria’s political parties stand on poverty, and what precisely are they offering the millions of Nigerians whose daily lives are defined by economic hardship?
Nigeria currently has a large number of registered political parties. INEC maintains an official register and publishes the constitutions and manifestos of political parties, providing an important basis for citizens to examine what parties actually say they intend to do.
The governing All Progressives Congress (APC) enters the 2027 contest with the advantage of being able to point to an economic reform programme already being implemented. The administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has pursued major reforms, including fuel-subsidy removal, exchange-rate reform, revenue mobilisation and efforts to stimulate investment and production.
The APC’s challenge, however, is that Nigerians ultimately judge economic policy through its effect on household welfare. Macroeconomic reform can create the conditions for growth, but the political question is whether that growth translates into affordable food, jobs, reliable electricity, better healthcare, productive agriculture and increased purchasing power.
For the ruling party, therefore, the 2027 campaign provides an opportunity to explain how the reforms of the present administration will be consolidated and how their benefits will reach poorer households. The issue is not simply whether reforms were necessary, but whether citizens can see and feel their benefits.
The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has sought to position itself as an alternative political platform ahead of 2027. Its 2026 manifesto places considerable emphasis on citizen-focused governance, structural reforms and what it describes as humane implementation of policies. It proposes a production-driven economy and a living-wage approach.
The significance of the ADC proposition is its emphasis on changing the structure of the economy rather than simply distributing the consequences of poverty. Its programme points towards agriculture, industrial production, employment and institutional reform.
But Nigerians should ask the ADC the same difficult questions they should ask every party: How much will the programme cost? What are the sources of funding? What institutions will implement it? What are the targets? And how quickly should citizens expect measurable improvements?
The Labour Party (LP) enters 2027 with its own political history and the experience of having emerged as a significant national electoral force in the 2023 presidential election. Its policy conversation has continued to emphasise human capital, social welfare, institutional reform and a people-centered approach to governance.
For Labour, however, the challenge is to translate the broad language of social justice and people-centered development into a detailed, costed and implementable programme. Poverty is multidimensional, and consequently requires more than a single intervention. Education, healthcare, housing, employment, food security, energy and social protection must operate as interconnected parts of a national development strategy.
The Social Democratic Party (SDP) has been more explicit in putting poverty in the title of its 2027 presidential policy programme. Its presidential candidate, Adewole Adebayo, recently unveiled a blueprint titled Farewell to Poverty and Insecurity. The document focuses on human development, economic productivity, infrastructure and institutional reform.
The SDP blueprint proposes twelve presidential missions, including security, innovation, transparent government, cooperative federalism and public accountability. It also proposes public performance dashboards and greater transparency in government finances and procurement.
The NDC is positioning itself for 2027 around economic hardship, poverty and the need for better governance. Its challenge will be to translate its promises into credible policies on jobs, food security, social protection and improved living standards for Nigerians.
Similarly, The Peoples Redemption Party (PRP), the Allied peoples Movement (APM) and other parties may not command the same national political machinery as the major parties, but their policy proposals should not be dismissed simply because of their size.
Indeed, the existence of numerous parties raises a larger democratic question. Are Nigerians choosing parties because of clearly differentiated policy programmes, or primarily because of personalities, ethnic and regional calculations, political alliances and electoral structures?
This question becomes particularly important when examining young Nigerians. A study of Nigerian political parties by Westminster Foundation for Democracy found significant weaknesses in the institutional frameworks for youth inclusion across many parties, despite widespread recognition of the importance of youth participation.
The poverty question cannot be separated from the youth question. A country with a large young population requires an economy capable of creating productive opportunities at scale. Education without employment opportunities, or training without a functioning productive economy, cannot by itself solve the problem.
The 2027 elections should therefore compel every political party to answer five basic questions.
First, what is your measurable poverty-reduction target?
Second, how will you create productive employment rather than simply announce jobs?
Third, how will you make food, healthcare, education, housing and energy more accessible to ordinary Nigerians?
Fourth, how will you finance your promises without creating unsustainable debt or fueling inflation?
Finally, what mechanisms will allow citizens to monitor whether your government has delivered what it promised?
These questions should apply equally to the APC, PDP, ADC, Labour Party, SDP, NNPP, APGA and every other party seeking the votes of Nigerians.
The 2027 election should not be reduced to a contest between political personalities. It should become an opportunity for Nigerians to compare competing ideas about how to build a productive, inclusive and less impoverished nation.
The parties may differ in ideology, policy emphasis and political strategy. But the poverty statistics impose a common responsibility on all of them.
For the Nigerian voter, the real issue is not simply who wants power in 2027. It is what that power will be used to accomplish for the millions of Nigerians struggling to secure a dignified life.
That is the poverty question. And it deserves to be at the centre of the 2027 election.
Orovwuje is a public affairs analyst, orovwuje50@gmail.com