ADC unveils manifesto, proposes living wage, humane policies
The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has unveiled its manifesto ahead of the 2027 elections, proposing a living wage, independent electoral management, and a production-driven economy.
Salihu Lukman, the former director-general of the Progressive Governors Forum (PGF), announced the party’s policy thrusts in a statement issued in Abuja on Friday.
Lukman said the policy principles and manifesto were adopted during the party’s national convention held on April 14, 2026.
The document, titled “ADC and New Framework of Electoral Campaign”, was produced by a committee chaired by John Odigie-Oyegun, former All Progressives Congress (APC) national chairman, with Pat Utomi, a professor of political economy, serving as deputy chairman.
According to Lukman, the manifesto is built on three pillars centred on citizen-focused governance, structural reforms, and humane implementation of policies.
The ADC chieftain said the party has developed policy responses to issues, including subsidy removal, exchange rate management, inflation, and unemployment.
He added that the manifesto covers agriculture, economy, energy, environment, mineral resources, foreign policy, governance and rule of law, health, human capital and social protection, productivity and industrialisation, infrastructure and transport, and security.
According to him, the party’s policy recommendations include “rule of law and a zero-impunity state, independent electoral management free from executive control, performance audits and value-for-money governance, subsidiarity and fiscal responsibility, living wage, tripartite labour governance and productivity alignment”.
He said the party also plans to declare a state of emergency in education and prioritise preventive healthcare.
On security, Lukman said the ADC intends to operate a framework based on local intelligence, state-level prevention, national coordination, and regional collaboration.
“To achieve that, the policy principles outline nine recommendations covering statutory intelligence coordination as the backbone of national security, federal subsidiary and decentralised policing under national standards, police professionalisation, demilitarisation, and rights-based enforcement,” he said.
Lukman said the party’s economic agenda aims to move Nigeria away from a consumption-driven and oil-dependent structure towards a production-based economy.
According to him, the ADC plans to prioritise regional value chains linking agriculture, manufacturing, logistics, technology, and services.
“The ADC manifesto commits its elected representatives to ensure that economic stabilisation must protect purchasing power, support job creation, reduce hardship, and expand opportunity,” Lukman said.
He added that the opposition coalition remained committed to introducing a measurable governance framework ahead of the 2027 elections.
“The new framework is about putting in place measurable initiatives based on which ADC governments at all levels can be assessed and evaluated,” he said.
