Nigeria’s All Progressives Congress is up for re-election in 2019. As it makes its case to voters, how has it performed on some of the main promises it made ahead of its 2015 win?
EDITOR’S NOTE: These pledges are collated from the party’s manifesto and its covenant with Nigerians. The latter document was subject to much debate after the party sought to disavow it. The APC did walk back promises for its first 100 days in office. Other publications have collated more promises. Also, the president’s first term in office ends officially on 29 May 2019 when he’d have spent four years in office.
Vigorously pursue the expansion of electricity generation and distribution of up to 40,000 megawatts in four to eight years
Progress
In the worksWhen made: 2014 Where made: Party manifesto Nigeria’s power generation has in recent years remained approximately 4,000 MW, not significantly different from 2015. The most recent electricity generation data by the National Bureau of Statistics covered the third quarter (July to September) of 2018. The daily electricity generation in that quarter ranged from about 2,390… Read more »
Target up to 10% of our annual budget on education
Progress
BrokenWhen made: 2014 Where made: Party manifesto After four budget cycles, the education sector under Buhari’s administration is yet to get at least 10% of each annual budget, which was his promise. (Note: The 2015 budget was passed into law by former President Goodluck Jonathan). In 2016, the government spent approximately 8% of the budget… Read more »
Make the economy one of the fastest growing emerging economies in the world with a real GDP growth averaging at least 10-12% annually
Progress
BrokenWhen made: 2015 Where made: My Covenant with Nigerians In 2015 the Nigerian economy grew 2.79%, before shrinking to -1.58% in 2016 according to the national statistics office. Nigeria’s real GDP annual growth rate was 0.83% in 2017 and 1.93% in 2018. The highest quarterly real growth rate record since the second quarter of 2015, when Buhari… Read more »
Increase proportion of FG spending on healthcare from 5.5% to 10%, and bring it to 15% by 2020
Progress
BrokenWhen made: 2014 Where made: Party manifesto Known as the Abuja declaration, African head of states met in April 2001 and pledged to dedicate at least 15% of their annual budgets to the health sector in order to meet millennium development goals. Health budgeting data from the budget office of the federation shows Nigeria is yet… Read more »
Implement the National Gender Policy including 35% of appointive positions for women
Progress
BrokenWhen made: 2015 Where made: My Covenant with Nigerians Passed in 2006, Nigeria’s National Gender Policy seeks to ensure women have equal access to opportunities. President Muhammadu Buhari pledged to implement it and cede 35% of appointive positions to women. (Note: The party’s manifesto later trimmed this down to 30%.) When the president announced his… Read more »
Ensure the construction of 4,000 km of superhighway and up to 800 km of modern railway lines
Progress
In the worksWhen made: 2014 Where made: Party manifesto As at 2012, Nigeria had 35,000km federal government roads across the country while the country rail system had 3,984km of track, according to the national statistics bureau. In the last three years the APC government has flagged off a number of construction and rehabilitation of key road and… Read more »
Ensure that under my watch no force, external or internal, will occupy even an inch of Nigerian soil
Progress
In the worksWhen made: 2015 Where made: My Covenant with Nigerians At the peak of their powers in 2014, the Boko Haram insurgency group captured a number of towns in the north-east. The success soon became an election hot-potato. Recent attacks in 2018, including the abduction of over 100 schoolgirls in March suggest the terrorist group remains potent.… Read more »
Create 3 million new jobs a year through industrialisation, public work and agricultural expansion
Progress
BrokenWhen made: 2015 Where made: My Covenant with Nigerians Four years on, Buhari’s government has struggled to meet the target it set itself. The National Bureau of Statistics estimates some 1.21 million jobs were created from the third quarter of 2015 to the second quarter of 2016. This fell short of the 3 million jobs annual… Read more »
Achieve the construction of 1 million low-cost houses per year
Progress
In the worksWhen made: 2014 Where made: Party manifesto To solve what it said was a housing deficit of 17 million, the APC pledged to build 1 million housing units every year, through both direct social housing programmes and supporting private developers. The first visible movement on this promise was almost a year after Buhari’s 2015 election… Read more »
Raise the transition rate from primary to secondary schools to at least 75% by 2019
Progress
In the worksAs he came into office, Buhari didn’t mince his words when making promises that he felt would be of benefit to Nigerian children. He promised to raise the transition rate from primary to secondary schools to at least 75% by 2019. According to Unesco, the transition rate to secondary school is the proportion of pupils in… Read more »