2027: ADC Unveils Reform Blueprint, Pledges Zero-Impunity, Production-Driven Economy

**Promises shift from oil dependence

 *Independent electoral system free from executive control

The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has unveiled a sweeping 2027 governance blueprint that seeks to reposition the party as a structured reform alternative, promising deep institutional changes across Nigeria’s electoral, economic, and security systems.

The policy direction, presented through coalition figure and former director general of the Progressive Governors Forum ( PGF) , Mallam Salihu Moh. Lukman, outlines a 12-sector framework adopted at the party’s recent national convention and framed around three guiding principles: citizen-centred governance, structural reform over ad-hoc policies, and carefully sequenced economic adjustments that protect vulnerable Nigerians.

At the centre of the detailed proposal released on Friday by Lukman and titled “ADC and New Framework of Electoral Campaign”, is a strong commitment to electoral and governance reform, including the establishment of an independent electoral management system insulated from executive control, alongside a “zero-impunity” governance model built on rule of law, accountability, and performance audits.

The ADC in the document released by Lukeman who is a prominent member of the committee headed by the duo of Chief John Odigie- Oyegun and Prof Pat Utomi , economically proposes a decisive shift away from Nigeria’s oil-reliant structure toward a production-driven economy built on regional value chains, linking agriculture, manufacturing, logistics, and technology.

Lukman explained that the “thrusts of both the ADC Manifesto and Policy Principles were founded on three pillars : Firstly , ‘that every policy, from economic reform to security to social protection, must be measured by its impact on citizens. Secondly, ‘that Nigeria’s challenges are structural and require coordinated, institutional solutions, not ad hoc interventions. Thirdly, ‘that reform is necessary, but it must be sequenced, supported, and humane, ensuring that Nigerians are not pushed further into hardship in the process.’

The party says this approach is designed to unlock comparative advantages across Nigeria’s geopolitical zones while reducing reliance on imports.

On social policy, the party’s blueprint prioritises a living wage framework, expanded social protection, and labour productivity alignment, positioning human capital development as central to national stability and growth.

This is even as sectoral reforms also feature prominently in the manifesto.The party called for treating food security as national security through agricultural transformation and mechanisation

The manifesto declared a state of emergency in education to drive systemic reform and workforce development, and proposes to expand universal primary healthcare access backed by insurance and stronger health systems

Similarly, the manifesto committed to implementing a multi-layered security framework combining local intelligence, decentralised policing, and national coordination

Importantly, the ADC in the document released by Lukeman rejected abrupt austerity-style reforms, arguing instead for gradual economic stabilisation with social safeguards to protect purchasing power and reduce hardship.

The party also plans to introduce a new campaign governance model that ties elected officials directly to manifesto commitments, including measurable targets and structured performance evaluation. It further recommends compulsory induction programmes for all candidates to ensure policy alignment and delivery discipline.

According to the party chieftain, the blueprint signals ADC’s attempt to differentiate itself ahead of 2027 by presenting governance not as political rhetoric, but as a contractual, measurable system of delivery, with citizens placed at the centre of all policy outcomes.

He was optimistic that if implemented, the framework would mark a shift toward a more accountable and institution-driven political order in Nigeria.

The manifesto further read this; “For instance, a major diagnostic of the agricultural sector is that the sector is ‘operating under severe structural stress: rising production costs, falling farm-gate prices, insecurity in food producing areas, weak technology adoption, and climate pressure.

A key consequence is growing reliance on imports to fill domestic gaps.’

” To address the challenges identified, our manifesto commits our party to ‘making food security a national security priority’ based on which this Policy Principles has outlined thirty-four recommendations covering smallholder-centred food security and price stability, all-season agriculture through irrigation and water asset optimisation, agricultural mechanisation and productivity benchmarking, zero-based and performance based budgeting, agricultural transformation for food security and growth, etc.

“In the area of education, the Manifesto commits our party -ADC to ‘declare state of emergency on education’, based on which the Policy Principles also outlined sixteen recommendations to address challenges covering people-centred development, universal access to quality education, system-wide education reform, national workforce development strategy, a right based social protection, disability inclusion, integrated poverty reduction strategy, decentralised social protection delivery, etc.

“Similarly, this Manifesto commits ADC to prioritise preventive healthcare based on which the policy principles outlined twenty-one recommendations to address challenges covering health as national productivity and security policy, primary healthcare centre (PHC) as the foundation of universal health coverage, universal coverage through insurance expansion and risk pooling, PHC under one roof with clear accountability, workforce retention as a national emergency priority, national disease surveillance and emergency response readiness, health equity for vulnerable population, etc.

“To address the security challenges facing the country, this Manifesto is also committed ADC to ‘operate a security framework across four coordinated levels’ – local-level intelligence, state-level prevention and deterrence, national-level coordination and enforcement, and regional-level collaboration

.”To achieve that the Policy Principles outline nine recommendations covering statutory intelligence coordination as backbone of national security, federal subsidiary and decentralised policing under national standards, police professionalisation, demilitarisation, and rights-based enforcement, independent oversight and internal accountability across security agencies, adequate manpower, modern training, and professional renewal, technology-enabled border governance and territorial control, etc.

“On the economy, the policy thrust is ‘to achieve sustained economic growth with high job creation, moving Nigeria away from an economic model dominated by consumption fuelled by rent extraction from a challenged oil-dependent structure, towards a production-driven economy built on the factor endowments of the country’s geopolitical zones.’ With a focus on ‘unlocking regional productive capacity through structured value chains linked to each zone’s comparative advantages’ the commitment of the ADC is to ‘prioritise development of regional value chains that integrate agriculture, manufacturing, logistics, technology, and services, ensuring that raw materials produced in each region are processed and transformed domestically before export.” Lukeman stated in the detailed document .

The ADC chieftain noted further that the decision of Nigerians to vote for the ADC in the 2027 elections would be earned based on the emergence of the new framework that will commit candidates of the party to deliver on electoral promises made.

He said, “This is what ADC and the coalition of opposition political leaders represent. This is what the commitment to rescue Nigeria represent and this is what will be fully unfolded once candidates of the party for the 2027 elections emerged. Invariably, this is what will endear the ADC and its candidates to Nigerians and is what will produce the electoral victory for the party.

“With elected and appointed representatives committed to implement the ADC manifesto, Nigeria shall rise and shine. He concluded.