By Kemi Yesufu
As with the 2023 presidential election, the 2027 battle for Aso-Rock is a three-horse race between the incumbent, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress ; the former Vice-President, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, who is flying the flag of the rejuvenated African Democratic Congress and Mr. Peter Obi whose emergence as the presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress has given the party founded by former Bayelsa State governor, Senator Henry Seriake Dickson, immediate prominence.
Tinubu, Atiku and Obi are experienced in running presidential campaigns; this explains why all three leading contenders for the number one office in the land sprang out of the starting blocks immediately after the electoral umpire, the Independent Electoral Commission (INEC), declared the race open.
While Atiku and Obi have been campaigning with gumption, frequently highlighting the failures of the Tinubu Administration as the main opposition, many neutrals are also asking what exactly President Tinubu will be campaigning on, having been in office since May 29, 2023? This is not to say Obi and Atiku have had a smooth ride; both candidates have faced major controversies in the past weeks.
As for Obi, his celebrated claim of financial discipline, exemplified by his refusal to leave any debt behind in Anambra State, has been strongly challenged by the Soludo Administration. According to the Anambra State government, Obi left about $123.77 million in outstanding external loan obligations when he handed over power in March 2014. Obi maintains that he left Anambra State buoyant and debt-free.
For Atiku, despite having never been convicted, he again has to contend with allegations of corruption during his tenure as Vice-President, the most recent being the judgment by the International Arbitration Tribunal under the auspices of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) on the arbitration filed by Sunrise Power and Transmission Company Ltd (Sunrise) and Leno Adesanya over the stalled 3960mw Mambila Hydroelectric Power Project in Taraba State. China Castle Investment wired $500,000 to the US Citibank account of the former VP’s now-divorced wife, Jennifer Douglas.
Unfortunately for the Waziri Adamawa, the ICC Paris Tribunal concluded in its judgement that: “There is a close connection in time between the moment the USD 500,000 payment was made to the wife of Vice-President Abubakar on 30 January 2003 and the alleged award of the BOT contract to Sunrise on 22 May 2003.”
As expected, the Atiku media team rejected, most especially, the presidency’s linkage of its principal to the USD 500,00 bribe scandal. Specifically, the head of the Atiku Media Team, Paul Ibe wrote in an op-ed, “red flags” are not proof of a corrupt quid pro quo. And, crucially, they are not a finding that Atiku used his office to procure the Mambilla contract’.
Despite the recent controversies, Obi and Atiku march on with their run for the top job and this brings me to the man they want to unseat, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. Perhaps Tinubu gave insight to how vigorously he will take his re-election campaign when he told Catholic Bishops, that “All is fair in Politics”.
Also Read: Tinubu demands police neutrality ahead 2027 elections
Personally, I analysed the President’s pronouncement, for which he was heavily criticised, as his preparedness to compete for every single vote. President Tinubu while announcing his now-extended working leave which he’s spending in Europe, for which he has also been criticised, stated that upon resumption, he will get right into campaigning. In the meantime, surrogates and support groups such as the PBAT Door-to-Door Movement, the City Boy Movement and Arewa4Asiwaju have led the way in the campaign for a second term for Tinubu.
As mentioned earlier, for a much-pilloried government, it is pertinent to ask based on which achievements will President Tinubu be campaigning for his much desired second term? Supporters and surrogates of Tinubu have in the run-up to the Saturday, January 16 date for the presidential election, highlighted the major achievements of the current administration.
Starting with the economy, those supporting President Bola Tinubu score him high despite the complaints about the cost of living. They point to the fuel-subsidy reform, saying the Tinubu Administration removed the petrol subsidy in 2023 to save the country from bankruptcy. Groups backing PBAT as Tinubu is fondly also argue that his stopping fuel subsidy freed up government resources for infrastructure and social investment. The government itself has said the reform helped improve public finances. State House Abuja.
Still on the economy Tinubu’s supporters have presented the foreign-exchange reforms as a major win. Tinubu’s government unified the foreign-exchange market to reduce multiple exchange-rate windows and distortions. More importantly, for GDP growth, according to Nigeria’s latest reported figures cited by the State House, real GDP grew 4.43% in Q2 2026, compared with 4.23% in Q2 2025.
There is no argument on economic growth and stability in Nigeria that is complete without mentioning the oil and gas sector. The government reports increased oil production and new investment following sector reforms and improved security around oil-producing areas. Increased domestic refining capacity has been presented by the administration as a way of reducing dependence on imported petroleum products and conserving foreign exchange.
In national discourse, closely following the state of the economy is the condition of basic infrastructure. The current administration reports that more than 2,700 km of highways and major roads are under construction, reconstruction or rehabilitation, alongside ongoing rail projects. How about the issue of power supply? The Electricity Act signed under Tinubu gives states greater authority to participate in electricity generation, transmission and distribution, while the Federal Government has also pursued power-sector debt and metering reforms.
Then there is the critical issue of security; for this, the Tinubu Administration argues that it has kept security spending at its highest level. The 2026 budget allocated ₦5.41 trillion to defence and security. To maintain and improve the wins against terrorists, bandits and other violent criminals, President Tinubu announced the recruitment of more than 50,000 new police officers, alongside additional military recruitment. Still on its counter-terrorism strategy, the current administration says it is restructuring the national security architecture around intelligence gathering, unified command, community stability and counter-insurgency.
On military and security operations, the Federal Government reports intensified operations against terrorism, banditry, kidnapping, oil theft and other criminal networks. To quicken the identification and arrest of criminals, President Tinubu signed the NIMC Act 2026, with the government linking stronger identity management to security and digital public services.
In the critical sector of education, the current administration showcases NELFUND student loans as its major achievement. The Nigerian Education Loan Fund has become one of the administration’s flagship education policies. The government reported that more than 1.5 million students had received access to higher-education financing, with more than ₦282 billion disbursed by May 2026. New and upgraded tertiary-education facilities have been commissioned across several geopolitical zones, including science, library and teaching facilities as delivered by TETFUND.
For the all-important health sector, in May 2026, the administration commissioned new and upgraded health facilities across all six geopolitical zones. The presidency described the programme as the largest single-day commissioning of federal health investments in the country. For primary healthcare, the administration says thousands of primary healthcare centres have been revitalised, and that health-insurance coverage is being expanded for vulnerable Nigerians. Aside from the budgetary allocation of ₦2.48 trillion to health, the Federal Government reported that engagements with the United States opened access to more than $500 million for health interventions in Nigeria.
In a nutshell, the Tinubu Administration will be campaigning on Fuel-subsidy reform, FX reforms, GDP growth, increased oil production, infrastructure projects, refining and power-sector reforms. For security, it will speak of increased security spending, police/military recruitment, counter-terrorism restructuring and intelligence-led operations. NELFUND student loans, TETFund projects, tertiary infrastructure, and technical/digital skills are milestones Tinubu will showcase for education.
New hospitals and specialist facilities, NEMSAS ambulance system, PHC revitalisation, and expanded health financing are part of the progress Tinubu’s supporters will be reminding voters about.
Since the return of democracy in 1999, Nigerians have participated in campaigns and voting, though local and international election monitors have expressed dissatisfaction over low voter turnout. But this doesn’t change the fact that Tinubu, Atiku and Obi will keenly contest for the votes available and with the presidential campaign still in its early stage, it is safe to say that Tinubu is the man to beat as the incumbent, especially judging by the voting pattern of the 2023 election.
My next article on the upcoming presidential election will dwell on Tinubu’s path to victory.
*Kemi Yesufu is the CEO of Frontline News Online
