2023 manifesto explained: Analysing APC and PDP’s path to 24-hour electricity

Dec 07, 2022|Noelle Okwedy

Disclaimer: At the time of writing, the Labour Party had not released its Manifesto, and so, it is not included in this analysis. Further updates will be provided to account for the recent release.

NB: We have updated our analysis of the manifestos to reflect the contents of PDP’s comprehensive manifesto. You can find the complete assessment here.

One thing past and present successive governments have promised and woefully failed to give Nigerians is energy security.

The International Energy Agency (IEA) defines energy security as the uninterrupted availability of energy sources at an affordable price.

Key takeaways:

Electricity access in Nigeria hasn’t improved despite promises from past and present governments.
The APC and PDP manifestos outline their grand plans for the power sector ranging from meter installation to infrastructure upgrades.
However, neither plan addresses the core reason why the power sector is in limbo—funding.

This isn’t a concept Nigerians are familiar with. Our electricity supply is anything but uninterrupted, and lately, even alternative fuels have either become too expensive (diesel) or too scarce (petrol).

Energy security doesn’t only apply to electricity. It also means access to clean cooking fuels and transportation fuels for mobility. However, we’ll focus on electricity because of how essential stable electricity is to Nigeria’s development.

2022 has shown that developed countries are willing to ignore climate change goals to ensure affordable electricity access for citizens and industries. In Nigeria, energy security seems like rocket science—we just can’t figure it out.

As expected during any election season, presidential candidates have released manifestos outlining their plans to fix key sectors of the economy. Today, we will focus on the APC and PDP promises to resolve Nigeria’s power situation (two of the three most popular political parties for the upcoming elections).

Before we assess these plans, we must break down the sector’s issues to establish that providing reliable electricity in Nigeria is not rocket science.