Peter Obi, Presidential candidate of the Nigerian Democratic Congress (NDC), has pledged to increase Nigeria’s electricity generation and distribution capacity by at least 10,000 megawatts (MW) within four years if elected president in 2027.
Obi made the promise on Saturday while accepting the party’s presidential nomination at its convention in Abuja, where he also unveiled a broad reform agenda covering power, healthcare, education, security, agriculture, and governance.
The former Anambra State Governor described Nigeria’s chronic power deficit as one of the biggest obstacles to economic growth, industrial development and job creation.
“We currently generate and distribute a mere 4,000 megawatts of electricity for a population exceeding 200 million people,” Obi said. “Over the next four years, I commit to ensuring a minimum increase of 10,000MW in power generation and distribution.”
He noted that Nigeria lags significantly behind countries such as South Africa and Egypt, which generate and distribute more than 40,000MW of electricity despite having much smaller populations.
Obi said expanding access to reliable electricity would stimulate businesses, boost industrial productivity and accelerate economic growth.
The NDC candidate also announced former Kano State Governor, Rabiu Kwankwaso, as his running mate for the 2027 presidential election.
Beyond power, Obi outlined plans to reform the healthcare sector. He said Nigeria’s health insurance coverage remains below global standards and pledged to raise coverage from about 10 per cent to more than 20 per cent within four years.
He also promised to increase healthcare spending to at least 10 per cent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), up from the current level of less than five per cent.
According to him, every one of Nigeria’s 8,809 wards would have a functional primary healthcare centre, while at least half of the country’s estimated 30,000 primary healthcare facilities would be fully operational before the end of his first term.
On security, Obi expressed concern over the worsening insecurity across the country, noting that Nigeria’s ranking among countries most affected by terrorism had deteriorated in recent years.
He said his administration would adopt an intelligence-led, technology-driven and community-based approach to combating crime and terrorism, while also addressing underlying factors such as poverty, unemployment and social exclusion.
The former governor identified education as a critical pillar of national development, promising increased investment in schools, teachers, technology and vocational training.
Obi also raised concerns about rising hunger and food insecurity, citing reports that more than 35 million Nigerians could face acute hunger this year.
To address the challenge, he pledged to transform Nigeria from a consumption-driven economy into a production-focused one through large-scale investment in agriculture and support for farmers.
He further promised targeted tax incentives, affordable financing and other support measures for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) as part of efforts to reduce youth unemployment and stimulate economic growth.
Obi also vowed to cut the cost of governance, strengthen transparency and accountability in public spending, uphold the rule of law and reinforce democratic institutions.
His promises come against the backdrop of longstanding challenges in Nigeria’s power sector, including inadequate generation capacity, weak transmission infrastructure, mounting debts and repeated national grid collapses.
Industry experts have consistently identified improved electricity supply as a critical requirement for unlocking Nigeria’s economic potential and attracting greater investment into productive sectors of the economy.
