Whenever politicians launch their campaigns for elections, they unveil a manifesto. Political parties and their candidates use manifestos to persuade the voters that they are the best to solve their problems and elect them to tackle the identified challenges.
The unveiling of manifestoes is a cardinal element of political campaigns. They may be ordinary documents, but manifestoes provide opportunities for candidates and their political parties to convey their positions to citizens, compete for votes, and help voters make educated and informed decisions on election day. The details embedded in a manifesto document enables the electorate to know which candidate is ready to govern the people whose votes he or she seeks.
As the 2023 elections approach in Nigeria, several candidates, particularly the presidential candidates and their political parties, have unveiled their manifestos. This piece, therefore, analyses the major talking points of the presidential candidate in their manifestoes.
But first…
What is a political manifesto?
A political manifesto is a written statement declaring the intentions, motives, views or policies of a candidate for an elective position and his or her political party publicly. A manifesto explains a set of policies or promotes a new idea of how a candidate and their political party will conduct their affairs and implement them once elected into office. The word “manifesto” originates from the Latin manifestum, which means a list of facts.
A political manifesto publicly declares the position of a candidate and his or her political party on certain issues and lays out a plan of action. It covers various subjects, from economy to security to governance to human capital development, amongst others. They proclaim the advent of a new movement or even of a new era and promise to be a marked change from the status quo.
Manifestoes bring the electorate’s attention to issues articulated by the candidates and their political parties. Political parties use manifestoes to promote and position their candidates and their platforms as the best vehicles to attend to the issues when elected via the ballot box, whether at the local, regional (state) or national level. They are a great way to help candidates and political parties get their message across to voters and clarify their intentions and ideas. After perusing the manifestoes, citizens measure each candidate and political party’s plans, ideas and strategies proposed and then make their choice.
Manifestoes are issued before an election, specifically during the campaign period. They serve as the form the basis of its campaign. They are usually written in a persuasive style to make voters believe that the policies they contain will be in their best interests.
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A candidate’s manifesto should:
- Address current issues raised by voters and other contemporary matters
- Be clear
- Be credible
- Should be persuasive enough for voters
- Differentiate a candidate from his or her opponents in terms of ideas; and
- Stipulate what the candidate intends to do for his or her constituency or district and how he or she intends to fulfill such promises made if elected.
Breakdown of the political manifestoes of the presidential candidates for the 2023 election
As of press time, only three frontline presidential candidates have publicly unveiled their manifestoes. They are:
- Bola Tinubu – the All Progressives Congress (APC)
- Atiku Abubakar – the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)
- Rabiu Kwankwaso – the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP)
A manifesto purportedly of Peter Obi, the Labour Party presidential candidate, surfaced on social media and circulated for about a day. However, Obi repudiated the said manifesto in a statement on Twitter, insisting that it was a document that did not have his approval to be released.
This piece will now take a look at the publicly released manifestoes of the three aforementioned presidential candidates.
‘Renewed Hope 2023’ l Tinubu (APC)
Tinubu, the APC presidential candidate, christened his manifesto “Renewed Hope 2023,” which was unveiled at a grandeur ceremony at the State House, Abuja, in October 2022. The manifesto is an 80-page document detailing how he and his running mate, Kashim Shettima, hope to address various critical issues if elected as the President and Vice President of Nigeria in February 2023.
Below is a summary of the critical areas his administration will address if elected.
Economy
Tinubu stated that the country could not continue to peg her budget based on the international oil benchmark, saying that it has distorted the government’s planning. He also noted that the multiple, “somewhat arbitrary”, exchange rates have been ineffective. Therefore, the former Lagos State governor proposes to halt using the oil benchmark as the basis for assigning costs and instead base the budget on the projected level of government spending. He also pledges to work with the Central Bank and the financial sector to “carefully review and better optimise the exchange rate regime”.
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The APC presidential candidate also projects to grow the country’s economy by 10 per cent. Tinubu advocates enacting a “more efficient fiscal methodology” to manage the economy efficiently.
He also recommends liquidating the country’s debt by tying debts in foreign currency to revenue-generating projects. Such debt, he adds, will be limited to essential infrastructure so that “new foreign currency debt obligations will be linked to projects that generate cash flows from which the debt can be repaid”.
With regards to taxation, Tinubu proposes to lower taxes but spread the tax net to cover more Nigerians. He also propounds to improve tax collection. Also, the APC says it will encourage international manufacturing companies to produce what we import domestically in a bid to domesticate industrial production.
Employment
Tinubu proffers to creating more jobs to tackle inflation. He submits that the creation of jobs coupled with a balanced level of spending by the government will not cause “unacceptable inflation”.
According to the manifesto, “our fiscal strategy is to spend public money only in a way that maximizes employment of people and resources, especially those previously idle”. He also intends to create one million jobs in the Information and Communication (ICT) sector.
Agriculture
Tinubu says he intends to increase land cultivation across the country from 35 per cent to 75 per cent in four years. He also proposes the return of commodity boards to boost the agricultural production of crops, particularly cash crops, as well as agricultural practices and promote commodity exchange markets.
Farmers, the plan says, will be encouraged to boost production and Nigerians of working age will be incentivised to take up various forms of agriculture.
Security
Tinubu advocates deploying technology and integrating various databases to improve the current security techniques and intelligence collection, respectively. He also recommends the removal of police officers as aides-de-camp/security guards to very important personalities (VIPs) and delegating the responsibility to the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) personnel.
In addition, he also proposes improving the salaries of security agents and law enforcement officers and creating anti-terrorist battalions to deal with the scourge of insurgency.
Availability of petroleum products
The “Renewed Hope 2023” manifesto posits that the APC under the Tinubu/’Shettima presidency will achieve stability in the supply of petroleum products by fully deregulating the downstream petroleum sector. It, however, notes that the fuel subsidy will be gradually phased out “yet maintain the underlying social contract between government and the people”.
‘My Covenant With Nigerians’ | Atiku (PDP)
“My Covenant With Nigerians” is the manifesto of Atiku, the PDP candidate. Although released earlier this year, the manifesto was formally unveiled at a forum organised by the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) in September 2022. It details a five-point agenda which intends to restore Nigeria’s unity, improve national security, foster economic prosperity, improve education delivery and restructure the polity.
The highlights of the PDP candidate’s action plan are as follows:
Economy
Atiku intends to completely privatise state-owned enterprises and ensure that the new private owners provide quality services to Nigerians. He also proposes to provide a stable macro-economic environment with low inflation, stable exchange rate and interest rate through coordination between monetary and fiscal authorities.
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He also pledges to double Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and achieve a GDP of $900 billion by 2027, raising the country’s GDP per capita to $5,000 by 2030.
The PDP candidate also promises to grant tax breaks to the private sector to incentivize investments from the sector and enable them to create more jobs for Nigerians. The manifesto states that the Atiku administration will “undertake far-reaching fiscal restructuring to improve liquidity and the management of our fiscal resources”.
Employment and human capital development
Atiku propounds launching an economic stimulus fund with an initial investment of $10 billion to support micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) within the first 100 days of his administration.
He also intends to lift 10 million Nigerians out of poverty. He also proposes to create three million new jobs for the populace. According to the manifesto, “creating economic opportunities for Nigerians will represent significant implication for social cohesion and national security”.
Infrastructure
The manifesto of the PDP presidential candidate mentions a plan to increase the country’s power generation from the current 4,000-5,000 megawatts to 25,000 megawatts through a “mix of non-renewable energy (hydro, solar, nuclear) and other thermal fuels (coal, biofuel) in addition to natural gas”. He also hopes to achieve 10,000-15,000MW in the short term before reaching his target.
He intends to do this by considering declaring a state of emergency in the Power Sector “to underscore our concerns about the state of affairs in the sector”. He also pledges to initiate and implement an Emergency Power Programme (EPPs) within the first year of his administration.
Atiku also proposes a public-private partnership (PPP) for constructing and developing critical infrastructure. According to the manifesto, this will “slow down debt accumulation”.
Availability of petroleum products
Atiku pledges to increase Nigeria’s refining capacity to two million barrels of oil per day by 2027. He also advocates for the deregulation of the downstream petroleum sector to enable oil marketers to perform effectively and provide fuel to Nigerians at the market price.
Security
Atiku intends to strengthen the police workforce to one million personnel and improve their welfare and that of other security and law enforcement agents for optimal performance.
He promises to halt insecurity, which he said was caused by “violent agitations and misguided demands for ethno-regional autonomy because of widespread feelings of marginalization and neglect”.
Restructuring
Atiku pledges to restructure Nigeria, saying: “We must establish a new political structure that reinforces the concept of ‘true federalism’ by conceding unfettered autonomy to the subordinating units.”
He also proposes devolving more powers and granting autonomy on certain issues to the state and local governments.
‘My pledges to you: The RMK2023 Blueprint’ | Kwankwaso (NNPP)
Kwankwaso unveiled his manifesto entitled: “My Pledges To You: The RMK 2023 Blueprint” on 1 November 2022. The 160-page document, unveiled at a public event in Abuja, comprehensively explains the policies and plans of the NNPP candidate.
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Below is a summary of the NNPP manifesto.
Education
Kwankwaso promises to get 20 million out-of-school children in Nigeria into school in the next four years. He also pledges to review provisions of the Universal Basic Education Act with emphasis on gender equity in primary and secondary school enrolment.
Furthermore, he pledges to make all external examinations like WAEC, NECO and JAMB free and “all application forms for admission into tertiary education institutions (TEIs) shall also be free”. This, the manifesto says, is to forestall the inability of parents and guardians to pay exorbitant registration/examination fees for their children or wards.
Agriculture
The NNPP candidate proffers revolutionising farming practices by investing in technology, training and extension work. The changes will ensure that the country is capable of “attaining national food security”.
Employment
“More and more jobs will be created through targeted investments, special accelerated projects and programmes,” the manifesto declares. Kwankwaso also pledges to facilitate constructive engagement with the youth by enabling them to hone their skill sets and providing them with the necessary support.
Economy
The NNPP presidential candidate proposes to revamp the country’s economy by initiating an emergency rescue plan. According to the manifesto, the plan will restore fiscal discipline, resuscitate the economy and protect citizens’ savings.
He also pledges to improve non-oil revenue, target inflation, save the naira from the current “uncontrolled devaluation”, limit capital flight and expand the tax base and the tax net. He also promises to create an enabling business environment for investors and diversify the economy.
Governance
Kwankwaso sets out a plan to reduce the Federal Government’s recurrent expenditure size. This, he says, will bring down the level of deficit.
He also posits that, if elected, his administration will provide patriotic and competent leadership based on revered principles of public life such as selflessness, integrity, objectivity, accountability, openness, honesty, and leadership by example.
Security
The NNPP manifesto states that “the size of the Nigerian Armed Forces will be built to about one million active service men and women. This entails recruiting an additional of about 750 thousand more personnel into the armed forces”.
It further states that “the size of the Nigerian Police will also be built to about one million active service men and women. This will bring the police-to-citizen ratio to 1:220 (much better than the UN-recommended minimum of 1:450)”. According to the document, the new personnel would be recruited from the “able-bodied unemployed youth that are roaming our streets”.
