With the 2027 election campaigns set to officially open on August 19, Nigerians are mounting pressure on presidential and National Assembly candidates to move beyond personality attacks, ethnic and religious mobilisation, and incendiary rhetoric. Electorates are instead demanding that politicians explain how they intend to fix the country’s worsening economic hardship, insecurity, rising unemployment, and declining living standards.
The demands come as the political class enters a consequential phase of the 2027 electoral cycle. The presidential and National Assembly campaigns are scheduled to begin on August 19 ahead of the January 16, 2027 polls. Meanwhile, campaigns for the governorship and State Houses of Assembly will commence on September 9 ahead of the February 6, 2027 elections.
Electorate Rejects Rhetoric, Demands Measurable Policy Plans
With memories of violence, hate speech, and bitter personality-driven campaigns from previous elections still fresh, voters who spoke to *BusinessDay* warned that the 2027 contest must not become another battle of insults and ethnic calculations. Instead, they want candidates to place the economy, security, jobs, poverty, education, healthcare, infrastructure, and citizen welfare at the heart of their agenda.
