2027: Makinde accuses APC of stealing ideas from his nine-page manifesto as Tinubu unveils 109-page agenda

The presidential candidate of the Allied Peoples’ Movement (APM), Seyi Makinde, has accused the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) of appropriating ideas from his party’s Reset Nigeria Agenda, following the unveiling of President Bola Tinubu’s 109-page manifesto for the 2027 presidential election.

Makinde made the allegation on Monday during the APM presidential campaign rally in Jos, Plateau State, where he questioned the originality of the APC’s policy proposals and challenged the Federal Government to explain what it had achieved after more than three years in office.

The allegation came against the backdrop of the unveiling of the two parties’ manifestos within six days of each other, with Makinde presenting his nine-page Reset Nigeria Agenda on November 4, before the APC unveiled Tinubu’s 109-page From Reforms to Prosperity: Agenda 2027–2031 on November 10.

The disparity in the length of the documents is particularly striking, although their respective page counts alone do not establish the originality or otherwise of their policy proposals.

Makinde’s manifesto is structured around four principal pillars: economic restructuring, security, education and socio-political reforms, while Tinubu’s document outlines an eight-point agenda, organised around four strategic pillars covering security, living standards, energy and infrastructure, economic growth and accountable governance.

Both documents address some of Nigeria’s most pressing challenges, including insecurity, the cost of living, infrastructure deficits, education and governance.

However, while the APM candidate’s document sets out broad policy directions under its four pillars, the APC manifesto contains a more extensive catalogue of proposed interventions, implementation targets and projected outcomes for the 2027–2031 period.

Among other commitments, Tinubu has promised to achieve six per cent annual economic growth, recruit an additional 28,000 military personnel and 50,000 police officers, construct 200,000 affordable homes, expand electricity generation towards 10,000 megawatts and increase functional primary healthcare centres to 90 per cent by 2031.

The APC also pledged to recruit 20,000 additional teachers, halve the number of out-of-school children and expand health insurance coverage to 40 per cent of Nigerians.

Makinde, however, maintains that the ruling party has begun borrowing from the policy direction earlier articulated by his campaign.

“Let me quickly say this: when we unveiled our reset agenda, I said in Abuja that they would soon start stealing our ideas. Now they have started,” he said.

The former APC critic specifically questioned the ruling party’s adoption of the language of reform and prosperity, arguing that the Federal Government’s record since assuming office in 2023 contradicted its latest promises.

“They say theirs is ‘reform to prosperity’. They now say they want a Nigeria that will work for everybody. What have they been doing over the past three years?” he asked.

He accused the Tinubu administration of pursuing policies that had benefited a privileged few at the expense of ordinary Nigerians, insisting that the country had become increasingly difficult for many citizens to live in.

“They have built a Nigeria that works only for them. Send the oppressors packing. Send them back to Lagos, and let us bring in the team that will reset Nigeria,” Makinde declared.

The APM candidate urged his supporters to intensify grassroots mobilisation, stressing that the outcome of elections would depend largely on the ability of political parties to secure support at the polling-unit level.

“Go back to your various units and spread the reset message. Elections are won at the unit level. If Nigeria is not working for you, then let us reset it,” he said.

Makinde also identified insecurity as a major obstacle to economic development, particularly in Plateau State, arguing that restoring peace would revive the state’s tourism potential, attract visitors and create employment opportunities for young people.

His running mate, Lawal Daura, said the APM leadership visited Plateau to solicit the support of residents for its proposed programme to restore the state’s reputation as a peaceful tourism destination.

Daura lamented the security challenges confronting the state, maintaining that improved security was essential to unlocking its economic and tourism potential.

Also speaking, the National Chairman of the APM, Yusuf Dantelle, criticised the Federal Government’s removal of petrol subsidy, arguing that the policy had not translated into improved living conditions for Nigerians.

“Subsidy has been withdrawn, according to the Federal Government, for one purpose: to give Nigerians a better life. But are we better off after that? We are paying through our noses. Food is not available. We cannot go to our farms. We cannot do anything,” Dantelle said.

He urged Nigerians to embrace the APM, describing it as a political platform committed to equitable distribution of resources, constitutional governance and improved citizens’ welfare.

The competing manifestos have added another dimension to the emerging political contest ahead of the 2027 presidential election, with both the ruling party and opposition parties seeking to convince Nigerians that their proposed policies offer a credible pathway out of the country’s economic and security challenges.

For Makinde, the central question is whether the APC’s latest promises represent an original policy direction or a repackaging of ideas already canvassed by his party. For Tinubu and the APC, the challenge will be to demonstrate that the administration’s first-term reforms can translate into measurable improvements in the living conditions of Nigerians during a second term.