- Cost of Living, Insecurity, Unemployment, Power Supply and Purchasing Power Must Dominate Campaign Debates
By Princely Onyenwe | Editorial Desk
As Nigeria moves towards the 2027 general elections, presidential candidates must understand that Nigerians are increasingly concerned about the realities of everyday life, not the volume of campaign speeches, political slogans or promises of a better tomorrow. From the market woman struggling to replace her stock to the civil servant whose salary can barely sustain a household, the farmer facing insecurity and the graduate searching endlessly for employment, the demand is unmistakable: Nigerians want practical solutions, measurable results and leadership that understands their struggles.
The next presidential campaign must therefore be more than a contest of personalities, party structures and political alliances. It must be an opportunity for candidates to explain how they intend to confront the country’s economic difficulties, restore public confidence, improve security, create productive employment and ensure that economic growth translates into better living standards. Nigerians deserve to know not merely what candidates intend to do, but how they will do it, how much it will cost, where the money will come from and how the public can measure their performance.
The cost of living must occupy a central position in this conversation. Although Nigeria’s economy has continued to record growth, the benefits have not translated into sufficient relief for millions of households. The National Bureau of Statistics reported real gross domestic product growth of 3.89 per cent in the first quarter of 2026, compared with 3.13 per cent in the corresponding period of 2025. Yet, economic expansion alone does not establish that household welfare has improved at the same pace.
This is the distinction presidential candidates must address. A growing economy means little to a family whose income cannot cover food, transportation, rent, electricity, healthcare and school expenses. The World Bank’s October 2026 country assessment estimates that more than 60 per cent of Nigerians were living below the national poverty line in 2025, while food inflation continued to place disproportionate pressure on poorer households. The institution also estimates that food accounts for as much as 70 per cent of the income of some poor households.
Candidates must therefore explain how they will increase real household incomes, improve food affordability, reduce production and distribution costs, and protect vulnerable citizens without creating unsustainable public expenditure. They should present credible plans for agricultural productivity, storage facilities, transportation infrastructure, access to affordable credit and the reduction of post-harvest losses. Food security cannot be achieved through campaign declarations while farmers face insecurity, agricultural inputs remain expensive and the movement of produce from farms to markets continues to attract substantial costs.
Equally important is the collapse in purchasing power. When prices rise faster than earnings, workers effectively become poorer even when their nominal salaries remain unchanged. Small businesses suffer as customers reduce spending, manufacturers face rising production costs, and families are forced to make difficult choices between essential needs. Presidential candidates must explain how their proposed economic policies will support productive investment, strengthen local industries, expand decent employment and ensure that productivity gains translate into better wages and improved living conditions.
Inflation management must also be explained in practical terms. Candidates should disclose the fiscal, monetary and supply-side measures they intend to pursue, the likely consequences for businesses and households, and the indicators they will use to measure progress. Nigerians should not be asked to accept indefinite hardship on the strength of assurances that conditions will eventually improve. Economic reforms must be assessed not only by changes in headline indicators but also by their effects on food prices, transport fares, household expenditure, wages and employment.
Insecurity is another issue that must dominate the presidential campaign. Across different parts of the country, kidnapping, banditry, insurgency, communal violence and other threats continue to undermine lives, livelihoods and economic activity. The World Bank identifies insecurity, including banditry and kidnapping in the North-West, insurgency in the North-East and separatist agitation in the South-East, among Nigeria’s continuing challenges.
Every presidential candidate must present a comprehensive security strategy that goes beyond promising to defeat criminals. Such a strategy should explain how intelligence gathering will improve, how security agencies will be equipped and held accountable, how communities will cooperate with law enforcement, and how the government will address the conditions that make vulnerable populations susceptible to recruitment by criminal groups. Candidates must also clarify their positions on police reform, inter-agency coordination, border security, the protection of farmers and the prosecution of those responsible for violent crimes.
Security should be measured by tangible outcomes: fewer kidnappings, safer highways, reduced attacks on communities, improved protection of schools and farms, and the restoration of public confidence. Government must also explain how security spending will be monitored to ensure that public resources deliver operational capacity rather than disappear into opaque procurement arrangements.
Unemployment and underemployment require equally serious attention. The World Bank estimates that approximately 3.5 million people enter Nigeria’s labour force annually, placing considerable pressure on an economy that must generate sufficient productive opportunities for its growing population. It has also warned that weak job creation and limited entrepreneurial opportunities remain major development challenges.
Presidential candidates must explain how their programmes will generate jobs that are sustainable, productive and fairly remunerated. Employment statistics should not become political decorations that conceal the reality of graduates unable to secure work, young people trapped in insecure informal activities and skilled professionals considering emigration because they cannot find opportunities at home.
A credible employment agenda should connect education and technical training with the needs of agriculture, manufacturing, construction, technology, healthcare, renewable energy and other productive sectors. Candidates should specify how they will improve access to finance for small and medium-sized enterprises, support local production, attract responsible investment and remove infrastructure bottlenecks that discourage businesses from expanding. They must also explain how many jobs they expect to create, over what period, in which sectors and through which verifiable programmes.
Electricity remains one of the most consequential obstacles to Nigeria’s economic development. Businesses that cannot rely on public power must often pay for generators, fuel and alternative energy systems, increasing the cost of goods and services. Households also face additional financial pressure when electricity supply is unreliable or expensive.
The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission’s August 2026 operational performance factsheet reported average available generation capacity of 4,758 megawatts across grid-connected power plants, with an average of 4,102 megawatts utilised. These figures illustrate the importance of addressing not only generation but also transmission, distribution, infrastructure maintenance and the reliability of electricity delivery.
Candidates must therefore explain how they will expand reliable electricity supply, improve the transmission and distribution networks, attract investment and strengthen regulation. They should address the responsibilities of federal and state governments under the evolving electricity framework and explain how consumers will be protected against poor service, arbitrary billing and inadequate metering.
The debate must also include the affordability of energy. Electricity is not merely a household convenience; it is a critical input into manufacturing, agriculture, education, healthcare and almost every productive activity. A country seeking industrial expansion cannot indefinitely ignore the relationship between unreliable power, high operating costs, weak competitiveness and limited job creation.
The petroleum sector presents another major test of policy credibility. Nigerians have endured the consequences of fuel-price volatility, foreign-exchange pressures and the country’s historical dependence on imported refined petroleum products despite its substantial crude oil resources. The question before presidential candidates is how they intend to ensure that domestic energy resources contribute more effectively to national development and household welfare.
Nigeria’s four state-owned refineries have a combined nameplate capacity of 445,000 barrels per day, but they have suffered prolonged periods of inactivity and rehabilitation. Meanwhile, the Dangote refinery, which began commercial operations in January 2024, has a substantial refining capacity of its own. The United States Energy Information Administration notes that the state-owned facilities have experienced prolonged maintenance and rehabilitation, with uncertainty surrounding when they will operate fully.
Reviving the public refineries, where commercially and technically viable, should form part of a transparent petroleum-sector strategy. Government must publish credible information on rehabilitation costs, operational readiness, production targets, maintenance arrangements and the financial implications for taxpayers. Refineries should not become permanent drains on public resources or vehicles for opaque expenditure.
However, candidates must also be honest about what domestic refining can achieve. Local refining can reduce dependence on imported products, ease pressure on foreign exchange and strengthen domestic supply chains. It does not automatically guarantee lower pump prices, because crude oil costs, exchange rates, transportation, distribution, operating expenses and market conditions also influence the final price. Candidates must explain how the benefits of domestic refining will be transmitted to consumers rather than simply assuming that increased local production will make fuel affordable.
The broader energy agenda should include the security of crude oil production, action against oil theft, transparent management of petroleum revenues, investment in gas infrastructure and the expansion of alternative energy where appropriate. Nigeria needs an energy policy that supports industry and households while recognising the importance of environmental protection and long-term economic diversification.
Healthcare and education must receive comparable attention. A nation cannot build a productive economy when families struggle to afford medical treatment or when children receive inadequate education because schools lack essential facilities, qualified teachers and dependable funding. Candidates should explain how they will improve primary healthcare, strengthen public hospitals, reduce avoidable medical expenses and ensure that health facilities have the personnel, medicines and equipment required to serve communities.
In education, the challenge extends beyond enrolment figures. The quality of teaching, access to learning materials, technical and vocational training, school infrastructure and the relationship between qualifications and employment must become central issues in the campaign. Candidates should present clear plans for financing education, improving learning outcomes and ensuring that public investment produces measurable improvements in literacy, numeracy, technical competence and workforce readiness.
Economic growth itself must become more inclusive and productive. The World Bank’s October 2026 assessment argues that Nigeria’s development challenge increasingly involves translating macroeconomic stability into faster, more inclusive growth, job creation and poverty reduction. Presidential candidates should therefore explain how they intend to expand the productive base of the economy, reduce barriers to investment, improve transport and logistics, strengthen local manufacturing and create conditions in which businesses can grow without excessive regulatory uncertainty.
Taxation and public spending must also be part of the conversation. Nigerians deserve to know how candidates will finance their programmes without imposing unsustainable debt or placing disproportionate burdens on low-income households and struggling businesses. Campaign promises should identify realistic funding sources, distinguish recurrent expenditure from capital investment and explain how public resources will be allocated among competing national priorities.
Candidates should also commit to transparent procurement, independent audits, stronger public institutions and regular publication of performance data. Every major programme should have a baseline, a timetable, a defined budget and measurable targets. If a candidate promises improved electricity supply, for example, voters should know the expected increase in reliable supply and the deadline for achieving it. If a candidate promises employment, the public should know the sectors targeted, the expected number of jobs and how the figures will be independently verified.
Honest communication is indispensable to this process. Nigerians need leaders who explain difficult decisions, acknowledge implementation failures and provide evidence of progress rather than presenting every government action as a success. Campaigns should not be built on manipulated statistics, exaggerated achievements or promises that cannot withstand basic scrutiny. Where a proposed policy carries costs or trade-offs, candidates should explain them openly.
National unity must also be treated as a practical responsibility rather than a ceremonial slogan. Nigeria’s diversity should not be manipulated to deepen ethnic, religious or regional divisions for electoral advantage. Presidential candidates should demonstrate how their proposed appointments, resource allocation, security policies and development programmes will serve citizens across the federation fairly. They must show a commitment to peaceful coexistence, constitutional governance and institutions that command public confidence.
The 2027 election should therefore challenge candidates to present detailed, costed and measurable policy programmes. Political parties should make their manifestos accessible to the public, while journalists, civil society organisations, professional bodies and citizens should scrutinise competing proposals and demand clear answers. Voters must be able to distinguish between a compelling speech and a workable programme.
Nigeria does not lack ideas, resources or citizens willing to contribute to national development. The challenge is to build institutions capable of turning resources into public value, policies into measurable outcomes and economic growth into improved living standards. Leadership must be judged by the ability to deliver these results, not merely by the ability to describe them.
The central question every presidential candidate must answer is straightforward: How will your proposed policies make life safer, more affordable and more productive for ordinary Nigerians, and what evidence will prove that you have delivered?
As the campaign season approaches, the country needs fewer rehearsed assurances and more credible plans. Nigerians have heard promises of transformation for decades. What they need now is a clear direction, honest communication, responsible leadership and tangible results that can be felt in their homes, workplaces, farms, schools and communities.
The 2027 campaign must be a contest of workable ideas and measurable commitments. Nigeria’s future cannot be secured by rhetoric alone.
