2027: Stakeholders demand issue-based campaigns, warn against violence

By Beifoh Osewele with agency report

As political parties intensify campaigns ahead of the 2027 general elections, stakeholders have warned presidential candidates and their supporters against violence, ethnic and religious mobilisation, personal attacks and vote-buying, urging them to focus on the economy, insecurity, unemployment and other issues affecting Nigerians.

The stakeholders, including former Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) National Commissioner, Festus Okoye; former INEC spokesman, Olufemi Akinbiyi; Lagos Chairman of the Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC), Temilola Akinade and legal practitioners, said the conduct of political actors in the coming months would be critical to determining whether the 2027 elections would be peaceful and credible.

Their warnings came as presidential and National Assembly campaigns formally commenced on August 19, following the lifting of the campaign ban by INEC.

Governorship and State House of Assembly campaigns are scheduled to commence on September 9, with the presidential and National Assembly elections fixed for January 16, 2027, and governorship and State Assembly elections for February 6.

The All Progressives Congress (APC) has already unveiled its Presidential Campaign Council for President Bola Tinubu’s re-election campaign, while Peter Obi of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) has commenced his campaign activities. Posters and campaign materials of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) and other candidates have also appeared in major cities.

But stakeholders are worried that the increasing political activity could trigger the violence and acrimony witnessed during previous election cycles.

The Election Violence Monitoring and Mitigation Group, an election monitoring initiative under the Kimpact Development Initiative (KDI), documented 238 incidents of violence and 28 deaths during the 2023 general elections.

According to KDI Executive Director, Bukola Idowu, 98 incidents occurred during the February 25 presidential election, while 140 were recorded during the March 18 governorship and State House of Assembly elections.

The concerns have been reinforced by violent incidents recorded during the build-up to the recently conducted Osun governorship election and violence and protests that characterised some political party primaries.

Speaking on the 2027 campaigns, Okoye said the economy and security would dominate the election, stressing that the crushing poverty confronting Nigerians should be at the centre of political debate.

“The central and most fundamental issue in governance praxis is the crushing poverty of ordinary Nigerians. The question is: which party has the magic wand to alleviate it and make life worth living?” he said.

Okoye said Nigerians were increasingly uninterested in political rhetoric and grandstanding, but wanted concrete and achievable solutions to their problems.

He said the ruling APC would have to convince voters that the removal of fuel subsidy and other economic policies had produced tangible benefits, while opposition parties would also be required to explain how they intended to improve the situation.

The former INEC commissioner urged political parties to present clear plans for tackling insecurity and youth disengagement from politics, while also demonstrating that citizens’ votes would count.

He cautioned politicians against exploiting ethnic and religious identities during the campaigns, warning that such tactics could deepen distrust and threaten national cohesion.

Akinbiyi similarly urged politicians to keep their campaigns peaceful and issue-based.

“As the presidential campaign commences now, politicians should advise their supporters to keep it low, calm, and peaceful,” he said.

He said voters were interested in knowing how the candidates intended to tackle insecurity, inflation, food insecurity, unemployment, healthcare and education.

“Everybody in the country knows that people are complaining all the time because of the state of the economy. What and how each candidate wants to address this is what we are looking for.”

Akinbiyi also identified the rising cost of education, healthcare and housing, as well as the widening gap between incomes and prices, as issues candidates must address.

Legal practitioner and development advocate, Jide Ologun, said the campaigns should provide an opportunity for political parties to present concrete policies rather than dwell on personalities.  “Candidates should provide clear solutions to the visible problems confronting the country, particularly the economy, employment, insecurity, and infrastructure.”

Ologun urged INEC to enforce electoral laws without fear or favour and called on voters to reject vote-buying.

“If you sell your vote, you are selling your future and your conscience,” he said.

Another lawyer, Adewale Akande, said security, the economy, power and infrastructure should dominate the 2027 campaigns.

He urged voters to support candidates who could move beyond propaganda and present practical solutions to the country’s challenges.

IPAC Lagos Chairman, Akinade, warned that political differences should not degenerate into personal conflicts, intimidation or violence.

“As INEC lifts the ban on presidential campaigns ahead of 2027, we must jettison any attempts to bring bitterness into electioneering,” she said.

“No life should be lost because we want to retain or wrestle power. Life is sacred. Let us compete with ideas, not violence; with policies, not insults; and with respect, not confrontation.”

She urged political parties to take responsibility for the conduct of their supporters.

A former Lagos lawmaker, Jude Idimogu, called on INEC to sanction politicians who violate guidelines on issue-based campaigns.

“It is strictly campaigns, not name-calling. Parties and candidates should tell the people what they will do better if elected and the benefits people will derive if supported,” he said.

Idimogu also urged security agencies to deal firmly with individuals and groups that encourage violence during the campaigns.

He said the conduct of politicians and their supporters at campaign grounds would be an indication of what Nigerians should expect during the elections.

With the 2027 campaign season now underway, stakeholders have called on political parties, candidates, the media, civil society organisations, traditional institutions and security agencies to work towards peaceful and credible elections

They said the coming months should be used to subject the competing political programmes to public scrutiny, rather than allow campaigns to degenerate into personal attacks, ethnic mobilisation and violence.