Where Abubakar stands.

Economy

Market-led, private-sector-driven growth. Privatisation legacy from 1999–2007 Obasanjo administration. Argues Nigeria's state is too involved in commercial activity and not enough in regulation.

Economy

Long-standing position that fuel subsidy is regressive and unsustainable. Said so in 2007, 2011, 2019, 2023. Tinubu administration's May 2023 removal aligned with this position but Atiku has been critical of the sequencing and lack of cushion.

Economy

Supports the unified FX market. Has criticised the speed and depth of naira depreciation under the current administration as policy-induced rather than fundamentals-driven.

Economy

Heavy youth-bloc focus in the 2023 campaign. Acknowledges japa as a market signal that the current opportunity set is insufficient.

Economy

Long-standing advocate of mechanised farming + agro-allied value chains. State-of-emergency on food security broadly supported, with reservations about implementation.

Economy

Generally aligned with the Oyedele committee thrust (broaden the net, harmonise, eliminate nuisance levies). Cautions against VAT rate hikes that hit the bottom 40% disproportionately.

Security

Boko Haram / ISWAP in the North-East, banditry across the North-West, IPOB-linked unrest in the South-East, farmer-herder conflict in the Middle Belt. As a Northern candidate, has positioned security as a personal commitment more than a policy framework.

Energy

Continuation of the 2005 power-sector reform he was part of as VP. Supports the Electricity Act 2023 framework signed under the current administration.

Education

Founded the American University of Nigeria (Yola), a private institution, in 2003. Argues federal-level role in education is regulatory + funding, not curriculum-setting.

Health

Backs NHIA universal-coverage framework. Critical of the medical-professional brain drain; argues retention is about more than salary — it is about working conditions and political stability.

Governance

Long-standing advocate of true federalism. Argues the 1999 Constitution centralises power and revenue in ways that incentivise capture of the federal centre and starve states of capacity.

Governance

Past EFCC/ICPC encounters during Obasanjo administration; faced US legal scrutiny in the 2000s. Argues corruption is symptomatic of over-centralised power + opaque procurement, not just of bad individuals.

Governance

Supports the federal infrastructure pipeline (rail, highways). Skeptical of the Lagos–Calabar Coastal Highway financing model.

Governance

Pan-African, ECOWAS-leadership orientation. Pro-AfCFTA. Has historical relationships across both Anglophone and Francophone African capitals from his Obasanjo-VP years.

Social

Supported the ₦70,000 minimum-wage rise in 2024. Argues consequential adjustments across the civil-service grade levels need to follow promptly to avoid wage-compression at upper grades.