2027: Nigerians Must Vote On Evidence, Not Promises
By Chidinma Eferebo
Elections should not be a competition to see who can make the biggest promise.
They should be a test of who has the clearest plan, the strongest record and the most credible path to delivery.
That distinction matters as Nigeria moves towards the 2027 general elections.
Campaigns will offer ambitious plans on jobs, the economy, security, energy, agriculture and infrastructure. But voters should ask a harder question: Can this promise actually be delivered, and how?
Nigeria has seen how quickly campaign commitments can fade after election day.
After the 2015 election, the Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD) created the Buharimeter to track 222 promises made by the then President and his party.
The exercise demonstrated the value of putting promises on record and measuring them against actual performance.
That approach should become standard.
A promise to restore a petrol subsidy, for example, should not be judged simply by how attractive it sounds. Voters should ask: What will it cost? Where will the money come from? Who will benefit? What are the risks? When should Nigerians expect results?
The same scrutiny should apply to claims about economic growth, employment, healthcare, education, electricity, roads and security.
If a candidate claims to be creating jobs, voters should ask whether those jobs are temporary or sustainable.
Claims about better healthcare should be tested against funding, staffing, access and measurable outcomes.
Any promise to reduce the cost of living should come with a clear explanation of the policies that will achieve it and when households can realistically expect relief.
Promises must have a scorecard
The experience of the Buharimeter offers an important lesson. In the first seven months of the administration it monitored, one of 222 promises had been rated achieved, 27 were ongoing and 194 had not yet been rated.
While some commitments required legislation, investment or more time, the tracker provided something essential: a public benchmark for measuring progress.
Nigeria needs more of this.
Campaign promises should be documented before elections and reviewed publicly throughout a government’s tenure.
That would make it harder for politicians to reinvent their records every election cycle.
Voters should also be cautious about campaign-season empowerment programmes involving cash, food, equipment, training and scholarships.
Such interventions can provide genuine assistance, but citizens should ask who funded them, how beneficiaries were selected, whether public funds were involved and whether the programme will survive beyond the election.
Transparency and clear eligibility criteria matter.
Fact-check before you vote-and before you share
Political claims should be tested regardless of the party or candidate behind them.
Citizens should check sources, verify dates, look beyond headlines and compare campaign claims with credible evidence.
This is becoming even more important as convincing AI-generated images, audio and videos become easier to produce.
The responsibility does not rest with voters alone. Candidates and political parties should publish clear proposals, realistic timelines and credible cost estimates.
Journalists should demand documents, figures and implementation details instead of merely repeating rally speeches.
Civil society groups and fact-checkers should maintain accessible promise trackers.
Those who have held public office should be prepared to answer a simple question: What did you promise, what did you deliver, and where did you fall short?
As 2027 approaches, campaign speeches will become more polished and political messages more persuasive.
Nigerians must demand more than attractive rhetoric-a truthful assessment of the country’s problems, a feasible plan and a record that can withstand scrutiny.
Before accepting a promise, examine the plan. Before accepting a claim, check the facts.
Before allowing a campaign gift to influence your judgement, consider the wider record.
An informed vote is not about rejecting politicians.
It is about ensuring that political promises become commitments that citizens can question, monitor and hold leaders accountable for after election day.
Eferebo, Project Assistant at Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa (CAPPA), writes from Abuja.
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