As Nigerians await the manifestos of presidential contenders ahead of the January 16, 2027 presidential election, some citizens, particularly opposition figures, have criticised the Bola Tinubu administration over alleged failure to deliver on promises made by the All Progressives Congress (APC) before the 2023 election.
President Bola Tinubu came into office with his Renewed Hope Agenda, promising to address insecurity, strengthen the economy, generate employment, improve electricity supply, reduce poverty and ultimately enhance the welfare of Nigerians.
While Tinubu and his supporters maintain that the administration’s economic reforms have produced considerable progress, opposition groups have rejected the claim, arguing that the policies have worsened economic conditions for millions of Nigerians.
The Tinubu administration has also described its infrastructure projects, investments and social intervention initiatives across different parts of the country as transformative measures that have contributed significantly to economic recovery.
However, the return of the political season has revived discussions around the promises made by the government, with critics questioning whether ordinary Nigerians have actually benefited from the administration’s policies.
The opposition argued that measures such as the removal of the fuel subsidy and the floating of the naira contributed to increased hardship among millions of Nigerians.
According to the IMF’s 2026 Article IV consultation, poverty stood at 63% at the national poverty line, while economic conditions remain challenging for many citizens.
ZINGTIE recalls that Tinubu unveiled an 80-page policy document in 2022 containing an eight-point agenda, raising expectations that the economic difficulties linked to the previous administration’s policies would soon ease. The manifesto contained promises covering employment, electricity, security, infrastructure, agriculture and other critical sectors.
Under the eight-point agenda outlined in his manifesto, Tinubu pledged to create millions of employment opportunities for unemployed Nigerian youths while working to revitalise other areas of the country’s economy.
Available reports indicate that despite notable improvements in some areas of the economy, many Nigerians continue to experience severe economic hardship.
In 2022, President Tinubu promised that, if elected president, he would “build a Nigeria, especially for our youth, where sufficient jobs with decent wages create a better life”.
He also pledged to empower Nigerian youths and women by “harnessing emerging sectors such as the digital economy, entertainment and culture, tourism and others to build the Nigeria of tomorrow, today”.
While figures released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) show that Nigeria’s official unemployment rate, which stood at 5.3% in the fourth quarter of 2022, has fallen to between 4.3% and 4.9% in 2026, opposition parties maintained that unemployment remains a serious challenge across the country.
In 2022, Tinubu promised to “generate, transmit and distribute sufficient, affordable electricity to give our people the requisite power to enlighten their lives, their homes, and their very dreams”.
During his campaign, the President also promised Nigerians a steady electricity supply, insisting that citizens should not re-elect him if his administration failed to deliver constant power as promised.
In a video that continues to circulate widely, Tinubu was seen addressing his supporters and insisting that Nigerians must have uninterrupted electricity, stressing that promises should be honoured.
He said, “by all means necessary, you must have electricity and you will not pay for an estimated bill anymore. If I don’t keep the promise and I come back for the second term, don’t vote for me”.
Although the frequency of national grid collapses recorded under previous administrations has reduced considerably, some Nigerians who spoke at the weekend rejected claims of any meaningful improvement in electricity supply.
Across several parts of the country, Nigerians have continued to complain about inadequate power supply, with some communities enduring extended periods without electricity.
Before winning the 2023 presidential election, Tinubu pledged in his manifesto to establish a “bold and assertive policy that will create a strong yet adaptive national security architecture and action to obliterate terror, kidnapping, banditry, and all other forms of violent extremism from the face of our nation”.
However, the nation’s security situation has, according to reports, deteriorated in several respects during the last three years of the administration.
At least 750 people were killed by terrorists in 2025, while numerous residents were forced to abandon their ancestral communities following repeated attacks by terrorists, bandits and other criminal groups.
Nigeria was also recently ranked as the fourth-worst country globally regarding the impact of terrorism.
Since Tinubu assumed office in May 2023, approximately 12,365 kidnapping incidents have reportedly been recorded across the country.
Reports further indicate that 842 people have been killed in 156 incidents recorded so far this year.
At least nine major mass abductions have also occurred during the past three years of the Tinubu administration, involving 551 schoolchildren and staff who were reportedly abducted for ransom.
Some Nigerians cautioned the APC against beginning another campaign based on what they described as unfulfilled or false promises.
Speaking, the immediate past Chairman of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) in Rivers State, Leader Sampson, accused the administration of failing to deliver on its promises, alleging that the Renewed Hope Agenda had impoverished Nigerians while benefiting government officials.
“Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda has only succeeded in impoverishing Nigerians. They have only enriched themselves and that’s all about the hope agenda”, he said.
He identified policies such as the removal of the fuel subsidy as among the measures he believed had contributed to the economic difficulties confronting Nigerians.
“Look at the issue of fuel subsidy, from the very first day Tinubu came into power, he announced that subsidy was gone and that very day, the petroleum pump price jumped up and fuel stations started shutting down. That is where Nigerians’ problems began till today.
“There is nothing they have done that gave hope to the ordinary Nigerian. This government failed in security. Every day you keep hearing abuse mass abduction killing and all of that.
“They keep saying that they are making progress in security yet we keep seeing more insecurity everyday. The government has done virtually nothing to improve the lives of Nigerians.
“You can’t travel by air because of the hike in airfare prices and you can’t move by road because of insecurity. It is a terrible situation that we have been.
“Tinubu told us that if he cannot provide electricity, we should not vote for him and we are going to do exactly what he said”, Sampson stated.
Political analyst and grassroots mobiliser Aaron Akogwu said that the ruling party would struggle to present a credible account of its performance.
“You can’t give what you don’t have. APC people have no single truth in their mouths. Like 2Baba said in one of his hit songs, it’s like they want to tell us another story again.
“The campaign is going to be difficult for them because what are they going to say to the people? The promises you made before we brought you in, have you been able to keep them? Are we expecting a new lie?” he questioned.
Nigerian businessman Prince Isaac Fayose, on his part, dismissed claims of any substantial improvement in the economy since Tinubu became president, arguing that the administration’s policies had largely benefited wealthy Nigerians.
He alleged that the APC government “removed subsidy from fuel and electricity from the poor and gave it to the rich. At a time, I agreed that subsidy must go but I never knew that they would take the subsidy away and replace it with them living large.
“The subsidy that was supposed to go to the common man is what they are now using to buy jets, that’s what they are now giving to the governors that are not working.
“Despite the subsidy removal, roads to Ekiti, Osun and others are impassable. They are now boasting of cash transfer to the poor. How much is the cash? N5,000 is less than $50. What business can someone do with that?
“Go to the North and see how people are suffering. People that spent billions of naira during the Osun election are now boasting of N50,000 cash transfer. Nigerians need to wake up and take their country back”.
However, the Minister of Finance, Taiwo Oyedele, on Saturday described Nigeria’s latest economic outlook rating by Moody’s Ratings, one of the leading global credit rating agencies, as significant external confirmation of the difficult but necessary reforms implemented by the Tinubu administration.
Moody’s, in its rating published on Friday, moved Nigeria’s outlook from ‘stable’ to ‘positive’.
In a statement issued to journalists, the minister said the Federal Government would now focus on moving Nigeria towards what he described as investment-grade status.
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