2027: APC national chairman urges politicians to fulfil campaign promises

National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, Professor Nentawe Yilwatda, has urged politicians holding elective offices to show sincerity to the Nigerian electorate by redeeming pledges made during campaigns.

Professor Yilwatda made the appeal on Tuesday in his remarks shortly after receiving the Blueprint Newspaper’s Person of the Year Award in Abuja.

The APC National Chairman, who declared that votes should be allowed to count, maintained that democracy becomes meaningful when the electorate feels the positive impact of governance.

He said: ” Our democracy must become a system in which every lawful vote is protected, every valid ballot is counted and every declared result can withstand legal, technical and moral examination.

“But elections are only one part of democracy. The greater test comes after the oath of office. Democracy must deliver secure roads, functioning schools, equipped hospitals, productive farms, decent employment and fair access to opportunity. It must give young Nigerians reasons to believe that talent, education and honest labour still matter. It must reassure the elderly that years of service will not end in abandonment. It must convince businesses that rules will not change according to political convenience.

“Peter Drucker wrote that “plans are only good intentions unless they immediately degenerate into hard work.” Nigeria has never suffered from a shortage of plans. Our deficit lies largely in execution, continuity, measurement and institutional memory. Public office must, therefore, be judged by outcomes instead of pronouncements. How many children returned to school? How many farmers gained access to markets? How many retirees received their benefits? How many businesses survived? How many lives became safer? How many public institutions became more competent? These are the questions that give governance meaning.”

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Ahead of the forthcoming general elections, Professor Yilwatda noted that security must be accorded its deserved priority, as a seamless political process is guaranteed in a secure environment.

“Security and electoral integrity are not separate rooms in the house of democracy. They are supporting pillars of the same structure. When insecurity prevents citizens from voting, democracy is diminished. When violence determines access to polling units, sovereignty is stolen from the people. When armed groups, political enforcers or criminal networks interfere with electoral choices, the ballot loses its moral authority.

“Thomas Hobbes warned about the misery that follows the collapse of public order. Yet order alone is insufficient. Security must be governed by law, professional conduct, political neutrality and respect for human dignity. An election protected through partisanship is not truly protected; it is compromised under official cover.

“Nigeria’s preparations for the 2027 general elections must consequently begin before the campaign posters appear. The work starts with intelligence gathering, conflict mapping, effective policing, secure borders, responsible political speech, trusted institutions, transparent electoral technology and prosecution of offenders…

Political actors must understand that victory purchased through blood holds no democratic legitimacy. Security personnel must remember that their allegiance is to the Constitution, not to any candidate. The media must resist misinformation and sensationalism. Citizens must reject inducement, ethnic incitement and manufactured hatred.”