2027 Politics Watch – Sunday’s Roundup: Atiku challenges Tinubu on power as Kwankwaso tells him to stand down

Atiku challenged the government’s claim that its electricity interventions were delivering meaningful progress. He said homes and businesses still faced darkness and estimated billing. His criticism focused on results for consumers, not merely laws, programmes, or official announcements.

He also questioned the tariff-band system. Under it, customers pay according to the number of supply hours they are expected to receive. Atiku proposed working with state governments and regulators to replace those bands with pricing linked more closely to the electricity customers actually receive.

The proposal remains incomplete. His campaign has not provided a tariff formula, subsidy plan, or costings. The APC points to legislation, infrastructure investment, metering, and debt settlement, while Atiku focuses on consumer pricing. Neither approach alone proves that electricity will become more reliable.

Nigeria’s tariff-band system groups electricity customers according to the number of hours they are expected to receive. Each band carries a different tariff. The basic idea is to connect the price customers pay with the level of service their distribution company promises to provide.

Band A illustrates the system. These customers are expected to receive relatively high supply and can pay about ₦209.50 per kilowatt-hour before value-added tax. Atiku argued that the price becomes difficult to justify when the promised electricity is not consistently available.

The central dispute is therefore about performance as well as pricing. A band can describe expected service without proving that the service occurred. The article says regulatory records on metering, actual service hours, and distribution performance would be needed to assess whether the system is working fairly.

The figures at issue describe different parts of Nigeria’s electricity system. The APC claimed that more than 1.5 million electricity customers had been metered under Tinubu’s administration. Metering matters because it can replace estimated bills with charges based on recorded consumption.

Atiku also cited Band A pricing of approximately ₦209.50 per kilowatt-hour before value-added tax. That figure concerns the price charged to a customer category, not the number of customers or the reliability of their supply. The APC separately cited a ₦4 trillion bond programme to settle verified legacy power-sector debts.

These numbers do not automatically establish better electricity service. The article says regulatory records are needed to verify metering, service hours, and distribution performance. It also says Atiku’s alternative pricing plan needs costings and a clear explanation of how provider revenues would work.

Electricity subsidies help keep the amount households pay below the full cost of supplying power. If subsidies end, consumers may have to cover more of the provider’s costs through their bills. The article says the administration has reported a plan to end electricity subsidies from 2027.

The effect could be sharper for customers already paying high tariffs. Atiku cited a Band A price of about ₦209.50 per kilowatt-hour before value-added tax, while questioning whether supply was dependable. A household using the same amount of electricity could therefore face higher bills without receiving more reliable service.

The article does not give a final subsidy formula or forecast household increases. Atiku’s campaign has not supplied a subsidy plan or costings for its alternative. The practical issue is whether future prices will match electricity actually delivered and whether service improves enough to justify higher charges.

A law, infrastructure project, debt payment, or meter can address one obstacle in the power sector. None of them alone demonstrates that electricity is reaching homes and businesses consistently. Reliability is an outcome that must be measured at the customer level.

For example, the APC cited the Electricity Act 2023, transmission investments, state regulatory reforms, metering programmes, and a ₦4 trillion bond programme. It also claimed that more than 1.5 million customers had been metered. These measures may support the system, but a meter only records consumption; it does not create electricity or guarantee supply.

The article identifies the evidence needed for a firmer assessment. Regulatory records should show metering numbers, actual service hours, and distribution performance. Until those records are examined, the government’s interventions remain evidence of activity rather than proof that households and businesses receive reliable power.

Political zoning is an informal arrangement in Nigeria that seeks to rotate the presidency between the North and South. Supporters see it as a way to share political power and support national cohesion. It is a political understanding, not a constitutional rule.

Rabiu Kwankwaso argued that the South had not completed its turn. He therefore urged Atiku, a northern presidential candidate, to withdraw and support Peter Obi, the NDC candidate. Kwankwaso said his own acceptance of the vice-presidential nomination followed the same regional principle.

The dispute could complicate cooperation between Atiku’s ADC and Kwankwaso’s NDC. Any attempt to create a common presidential ticket would have to resolve their opposing positions on zoning. The article says Atiku and the ADC had not issued a verified response to Kwankwaso’s remarks by filing time.

The informal North-South rotation seeks to alternate presidential power between Nigeria’s two broad regions. Political parties and candidates may treat it as important for fairness and national cohesion. However, the arrangement comes from political practice rather than constitutional text.

That distinction explains the disagreement over Atiku’s candidacy. Kwankwaso says the South’s turn is unfinished and believes Atiku should support Peter Obi. But the article states that Nigeria’s Constitution does not reserve the presidency for either region. Regional rotation therefore cannot, by itself, legally bar a candidate.

Atiku remains eligible to contest if he meets the applicable electoral requirements. The constitutional question and the political question are separate. Zoning may influence alliances, negotiations, and voter arguments, but it does not replace the formal legal conditions for standing in an election.