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| Political parties and candidates begin official campaigns for Nigeria’s 2027 presidential and National Assembly elections. |
ABUJA — FROM TODAY 19TH AUGUST 2026,POLITICAL POSTERS, RALLIES AND PROMISES WILL TAKE OVER AS NIGERIA OFFICIALLY BEGINS 2027 PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGNS
ABUJA — It is official. The music trucks can start playing. The posters can go up. The long speeches can begin.
Today, Wednesday August 19, 2026, Nigeria enters the 2027 campaign season.
From this morning, candidates running for President and National Assembly can legally start telling you why you should vote for them.
This is not consultations again. This is not backroom meetings. This is the real thing.
And everyone is ready.
President Bola Tinubu and the APC are dusting their campaign buses. Peter Obi and his team are planning town halls. Atiku Abubakar is meeting with governors and party men. Omoyele Sowore is already on social media firing shots.
For the next several months, Nigeria will be loud. Very loud.
Let me break down what starts today, who is running, what they will likely campaign on, and what you should watch out for.
TODAY IS DAY ONE ACCORDING TO INEC
The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, released the timetable a while ago.
According to that timetable, campaigns for President and National Assembly start today, August 19, 2026.
What does that mean. It means candidates can now hold rallies. They can buy TV and radio ads. They can print billboards. They can go from state to state telling you their plans.
But hold on. Not every election starts today.
Campaigns for Governorship and State House of Assembly will start later. That one is September 9, 2026.
So for now, all the noise you will hear is about Aso Rock and the National Assembly. Governors and state lawmakers will join the party next month.
INEC Chairman, Professor Joash Amupitan, used the opportunity to remind politicians of one thing. Keep it clean.
He said this campaign should be about ideas. Talk about the economy. Talk about security. Talk about schools and hospitals. Stop the insults. Stop the tribal talk.
Whether they will listen is another story.
TINUBU IS COMING AS THE INCUMBENT
President Bola Tinubu will be running for a second term. That is no longer speculation.
And he is coming with the APC machine behind him.
What will he campaign on. Simple. His record.
Expect to hear a lot about "Renewed Hope." Expect them to talk about the reforms. The removal of fuel subsidy. The unification of exchange rate. The tax reforms. The student loan. The roads and infrastructure projects.
The message will be, "Give us 4 more years to finish the job. The pain is part of the process. The results are coming."
That is the pitch.
But the opposition will have their own pitch too. And it will be loud.
YOU CAN ALSO LIKE THIS: TINUBU, OBI, SOWORE AND OTHER LEADERS SIGN 2027 PEACE ACCORD AS CAMPAIGNS BEGIN
They will talk about food prices. They will talk about inflation. They will talk about unemployment. They will talk about insecurity in some parts of the country.
So 2027 will basically be a referendum on Tinubu’s first term.
Do Nigerians feel life is better. Do they believe things will get better with 4 more years. Or do they want a change.
That is the question every voter will answer at the ballot.
THE OPPOSITION FIELD IS GETTING CROWDED
If you think 2023 was competitive, wait for 2027.
Peter Obi is still in the picture. After his strong showing in 2023, he remains the face of a lot of young, first-time voters. People who want something different.
Obi will likely campaign on cutting the cost of governance. On moving Nigeria from consumption to production. On fixing education and health. He has been saying it for 3 years now. Expect the same message, but louder.
Then there is Atiku Abubakar. The former Vice President is not new to this. He has run before. And he is currently working behind the scenes to build a strong opposition coalition.
The big question for Atiku and Obi is, will they work together. Or will they run separately again. If they run separately, APC will have an advantage. If they unite, 2027 becomes a real fight.
Don’t forget Omoyele Sowore. He is already in campaign mode. He will be talking about revolution. About a new system. About arresting corrupt politicians. His crowd is smaller but very vocal online.
Other parties like SDP, NNPP, YPP are also moving. They are meeting in states. They are trying to build structures.
So the field is not empty.
PEACE ACCORD WAS SIGNED JUST YESTERDAY
Funny timing. Just one day before campaigns started, all the big names gathered in Abuja to sign a peace accord.
President Tinubu was represented by SGF George Akume. Peter Obi was there. Sowore was there. Party chairmen were there.
They all signed a paper promising peaceful campaigns. No violence. No hate speech. No attacking opponents.
Sowore used the moment to ask a hard question. "What is the point of signing if nobody gets punished when they break it."
And he has a point. Because just last week in Osun, we saw vote buying. We saw rice sharing. Police arrested a lawmaker with over 200 PVCs. Over 140 people were arrested.
So Nigerians are watching. Signing is one thing. Doing it is another.
The National Peace Committee, led by General Abdulsalami, said they will monitor. INEC said they will be firm. Police said they will be neutral.
We will see.
WHAT INEC AND POLICE ARE PROMISING
INEC says it will be impartial. "We will not favor anyone," Amupitan said.
They are also promising that votes will count. That BVAS will work. That results will be uploaded.
The Inspector General of Police, Olatunji Disu, also spoke. He said there will be more security at rallies and collation centers. He said police will not take sides.
That is good to hear. But Nigerians have heard promises before.
The test will come when two rival parties clash at a rally. The test will come when a big politician is caught buying votes. Will anyone be arrested. Will anyone be disqualified.
That is what people want to see.
WHAT NIGERIANS ACTUALLY WANT TO HEAR
Forget the rallies for a second. Forget the music.
What do people really want from this campaign.
They want answers.
Mama in the market wants to know, how will you reduce the price of rice and beans.
The okada man wants to know, how will you create jobs so his children don’t depend on him forever.
The student wants to know, how will you fix ASUU strikes and make school affordable.
The business owner wants to know, how will you fix electricity so she doesn’t spend 200k on diesel every month.
The farmer in Benue wants to know, how will you stop bandits and let him go to his farm in peace.
These are the real issues.
If a candidate spends 30 minutes at a rally insulting the other person and 2 minutes talking about policy, people will notice.
Young Nigerians especially are tired of vibes. They want data. They want plans. They want to know how.
THE MONEY PROBLEM WILL COME UP
Let’s talk about it. Vote buying.
We saw it in Osun. We saw it in 2023.
Politicians share money. They share rice. They share wrappers. And people collect it because times are hard.
But here is the truth. That 5k will finish in 2 days. But bad governance will last 4 years.
This campaign season, voters have a choice. Collect the money and still vote your conscience. Or reject it completely.
Civil society groups will be watching. INEC said they will arrest people. But it starts with you and me saying no.
WHAT THE NEXT FEW MONTHS WILL LOOK LIKE
From today, expect the following.
More rallies. Lagos, Kano, Port Harcourt, Abuja. Big stages. Big sound. Celebrities will show up.
More defections. People will jump from one party to another. "I am leaving because of principle." We know how it goes.
More alliances. Meetings in Abuja hotels at 2am. "Let’s work together to defeat them."
More policy papers. Candidates will start releasing manifestos. Some will be 100 pages. Nobody will read all. But the summary will be everywhere.
More social media fights. Twitter, TikTok, Facebook will be war zones. Fake news will fly. Fact-checkers will be busy.
And more promises. "I will do this in 100 days." "I will create 10 million jobs." "I will end insecurity."
Your job as a voter is to ask, how.
WHY 2027 MATTERS SO MUCH
This is not just another election.
Nigeria is at a turning point. The reforms of the last 3 years have been painful. But the government says they are necessary for long term growth.
Do we continue with the current direction. Or do we change course.
Do we focus on production. Or do we keep importing everything.
Do we invest in education and health. Or do we keep borrowing.
These are the big questions.
2027 is where Nigerians decide.
A WORD TO THE POLITICIANS
You are asking for our votes.
So talk to us like adults.
Don’t come and dance and leave. Tell us your plan.
Don’t use our tribe and religion to divide us. We live together. We suffer together.
Don’t send thugs to attack people. If you win by force, you will govern by fear.
And please, don’t die in office and leave us with problems. Take care of your health.
A WORD TO THE VOTERS
Your PVC is your power.
Don’t sell it.
Don’t sit at home and complain later.
Go and register if you haven’t. Go and vote. Go and protect your vote.
And after you vote, hold them accountable. Election day is not the end. It is the beginning.
THE CAMPAIGN HAS BEGUN
So here we are. August 19, 2026.
The gates are open.
Tinubu is running. Obi is running. Atiku is positioning. Sowore is running. Others are coming.
The next few months will be noisy. It will be messy sometimes. It will be interesting.
But at the end of it all, one person will be sworn in on May 29, 2027.
The question is, who deserves your vote.
Listen to them. Question them. Follow the money. Follow the track record.
And choose wisely.
Because this country is ours. Not theirs.
By Solomon Emmanuel | Zpothub News
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