President Bola Tinubu has renewed his pledge to provide Nigerians with reliable electricity, promising to address the country's persistent power challenges if re-elected for a second term in 2027.

Tinubu made the promise on Tuesday at the All Progressives Congress (APC) campaign rally in Dutse, the Jigawa State capital, where he also outlined plans to strengthen the industrial sector, support small businesses and expand employment opportunities.

“We will reduce the cost of living. We will provide reliable power, not the whole privatisation that is not working. We provide you with reliable power in this Nigeria,” the President declared.

He also promised to stimulate economic activities through increased support for nano, small and medium-scale enterprises, noting that his administration would strengthen the country's industrial base and create more jobs.

On agriculture, Tinubu pledged increased government investment, subsidies for farmers and interest-free loans to boost food production, improve food security and reduce food prices.

“We have to invest in agriculture, we will subsidise farming, we will reward small-scale farmers, interest-free loans for farmers are coming, prosperity is coming, food security will happen,” he said.

The President further announced plans to establish mechanised farming centres across the country's six geopolitical zones while encouraging universities to intensify research and development in agriculture.

The renewed electricity pledge comes amid political debate over Tinubu's earlier commitment to end estimated billing and ensure reliable electricity supply, which he made during a meeting with members of the Organised Private Sector in Lagos ahead of the 2023 presidential election.

At the meeting, the then presidential candidate had declared that Nigerians would enjoy electricity without paying estimated bills, insisting that he should not be re-elected if he failed to fulfil the promise without providing adequate explanations.

“Whichever way, by all means necessary, you will have electricity, and you will not pay for estimated bills anymore. A promise made will be a promise kept,” he had said.

He further challenged Nigerians not to vote for him for a second term if he failed to deliver on the commitment, unless he provided adequate reasons for his inability to do so.

However, the APC Presidential Campaign Council, through its spokesperson, Dele Alake, recently dismissed interpretations suggesting that Tinubu had promised not to seek re-election if electricity supply remained unreliable.

Alake argued that critics had taken the President's remarks out of context by ignoring his qualification that he could provide adequate explanations for any failure to meet the commitment.

He also cited the Electricity Act 2023, the Presidential Metering Initiative, efforts to settle legacy debts in the power sector and investments in transmission infrastructure as evidence of the administration's efforts to reform the electricity sector.

Although acknowledging that the electricity challenge remained unresolved, Alake maintained that Tinubu would present his administration's achievements and outstanding commitments in the power sector to Nigerians as he seeks re-election in 2027.