President Bola Tinubu formally launched his campaign for a second term on Saturday 24 October at a rally in Kaduna, northern Nigeria, ahead of a presidential election scheduled for 16 January 2027, according to published reports.

Tinubu, 74, told supporters at the 10,000-capacity Ranchers Bees Stadium: "It is a promise." He urged voters to "elect me again" and blamed the opposition for the country's hardship: "They created the hunger. They created the poverty."

What Tinubu said

The stadium was filling with supporters of his All Progressives Congress (APC) by midday. His party has proposed that he personally attends rallies in 12 states, ending with a closing rally in Lagos on 9 January, rather than visiting all 36 states.

Tinubu's camp says 32 of Nigeria's 36 state governors back him. Governors have not always delivered their states to presidential candidates in past elections.

The opposition response

Former vice-president Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi, who finished second and third in 2023, are described in reports as his main challengers.

Phrank Shaibu, spokesperson for the Atiku campaign, said Tinubu's blame of the opposition for hunger reflects "delusion or a staggering case of political amnesia".

The economy and security backdrop

Since 2023, Tinubu has scrapped fuel subsidies and devalued the naira. The reforms are credited with improving public finances, foreign reserves and investor sentiment, and have also added to cost-of-living pressure, according to published reports.

In September, petrol cost about 1,400 naira per litre in Lagos and Abuja, and up to 1,500 naira in parts of northern Nigeria, according to the same reports, which cite an exchange rate of about 1,330.64 naira to the dollar.

Armed bandits and kidnappers remain active in the northwest, and a 17-year Islamist insurgency continues in the northeast.

What we do not yet know

  • The final list of candidates. We have not confirmed it with the electoral commission.
  • The election date of 16 January 2027 comes from one wire report and needs confirmation from the electoral commission.
  • The governors' backing is a claim by Tinubu's camp and has not been independently verified.