Makinde and Radda: Performance Versus Promise

SOStainabilityWeekly

Edited by Oke Epia, E-mail: sostainability01@gmail.com  | WhatsApp: +234 8034000706

2027 Green Agenda:

By Mmachi Okafor

As Nigeria approaches the 2027 general elections, the country’s persistent electricity shortages, environmental challenges, and growing vulnerability to climate change are bringing renewed attention to the development agendas of political candidates. The 2027 Green Agenda Series by SOStainability and AfriClime focuses on the policies candidates are proposing or reinforcing (for incumbents seeking reelection) to address climate change and harness the numerous opportunities of the emergent green economy. Today’s edition focuses on a presidential candidate and a governor seeking reelection: Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde, who is seeking the presidency under the Allied Peoples Movement (APM); and Katsina State Governor Dikko Umar Radda, who is pursuing a second term. For the duo, the challenge goes beyond outlining ambitious energy, environmental, and green economic policies. They must demonstrate how their antecedence, policies, and current performance have translated into sustainable development and improved living conditions for Nigerians. This assessment will focus on power, climate policies, and waste management.

Seyi Makinde: Makinde’s presidential campaign, built around his “Reset Agenda,” places electricity reform, infrastructure development and economic productivity at the centre of his proposed national transformation.

SDG7: His campaign promises to stabilise Nigeria’s electricity grid, modernise transmission and distribution infrastructure, encourage private-sector investment and expand decentralised electricity generation.Of particular relevance to Sustainable Development Goal 7 (SDG 7) on affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all, Makinde proposes greater investment in renewable energy technologies, including solar and hydropower, alongside state-level electricity generation and mini-grid development.The proposals reflect an attempt to reduce Nigeria’s dependence on its unstable national grid while expanding electricity access to underserved communities.Makinde is also promising improvements in electricity metering, stronger regulation of power operators and reforms aimed at addressing the financial challenges affecting the electricity sector. These commitments have some connection with his record as governor of Oyo State.Under his administration, Oyo State commissioned the first phase of an 11-megawatt hybrid independent power project in December 2024. The initial five-megawatt phase combines four megawatts of gas-fired electricity generation with one megawatt of solar power.The project was designed to improve electricity supply to government facilities, healthcare institutions and public schools.His administration has also supported solar mini-grid projects in rural communities and the installation of solar lighting systems in primary healthcare centres.Furthermore, the establishment of the Oyo State Electricity Regulatory Commission represents a high point of his administration’s efforts to implement the 2023 electricity law, which decentralised power from being a solely federal affair. While these initiatives provide a practical connection between Makinde’s experience in subnational electricity development and his presidential promise to improve Nigeria’s power sector, the empirical value of his efforts remains to be independently evaluated. This proof gap is a fundamental goal of SOStainability’s RENEW SDG7 multi-pronged project, which would reach a critical high point at the peak of the electioneering to support informed electoral choices.

Climate Policy: On climate policy and the green economy, Makinde’s administration introduced the Oyo State Climate Action Plan 2026–2040, which seeks to strengthen climate resilience, encourage renewable energy investment and promote environmentally sustainable economic activities. His presidential economic proposals similarly emphasise infrastructure, industrial productivity, private investment and reduced operating costs for businesses. Although these commitments could support green economic growth, his published presidential campaign materials provide less detail on specific national carbon reduction targets, climate financing arrangements and green employment projections.

Waste management: This presents another area requiring clarification. While Makinde’s administration in Oyo State has pursued waste sorting, recycling partnerships and improvements in environmental sanitation, the available presidential policy documents do not yet establish a detailed nationwide waste management programme with measurable recycling or waste-to-energy targets. Consequently, a major question for his presidential campaign is whether the environmental policies introduced in Oyo State will become part of a comprehensive national climate and waste management strategy. Or they would form a cluster of afterthoughts like his 2007 campaign manifesto tends to suggest.  

Dikko Radda: In Katsina State, Governor Dikko Umar Radda is also seeking to build on his administration’s development record as he campaigns for re-election in 2027. Radda, who secured the All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship ticket in May 2026, has indicated that his re-election campaign will emphasise projects and programmes already undertaken rather than rely primarily on new political promises. This approach places his existing Katsina Green Growth Agenda (KAGGA), launched in April 2025, at the centre of any assessment of his environmental commitments. The initiative seeks to address climate vulnerability while creating economic opportunities through renewable energy development, sustainable agriculture, ecosystem restoration and green industrialisation.

SDG 7: Radda’s administration has set a target of providing electricity to 500 rural communities through solar mini-grids by 2030. The programme also proposes integrating solar technology with Katsina’s 10-megawatt wind farm to strengthen renewable electricity generation.Because these targets extend beyond the 2027 election, they provide a basis for assessing the continuity of Radda’s environmental agenda if he secures a second term. The empirical deliverables of his interventions on power and energy will face independent and objective evaluation, including by SOStainability’s RENEW SDG7 project, to be published in time to help with informed electoral choices by the people of Katsina State.

Climate Policy: Radda’s administration has outlined commitments to tree planting, reforestation, climate-resilient agriculture and the development of environmentally sustainable businesses. The programme also targets the creation of 100,000 green jobs by 2035, supported by a proposed ₦50 billion Green Investment Fund intended to encourage climate adaptation and green enterprise.

Waste management: This is another significant component of Radda’s environmental programme. Through plastic recycling, waste-to-energy projects and the conversion of discarded materials into commercially useful products, the administration hopes to reduce pollution while generating employment and investment opportunities. The Katsina Green Growth Agenda projects annual recycling revenue of ₦3.5 billion, although this remains a target rather than a verified economic outcome. These commitments suggest that Radda’s environmental priorities could continue beyond his first term, particularly because several of the programme’s targets extend to 2030 and 2035. Nevertheless, the publicly available information reviewed does not establish a separate, comprehensive 2027 re-election manifesto containing new and specific commitments on renewable energy, climate financing and waste management. His campaign’s emphasis on continuity therefore makes the implementation of existing programmes particularly important. The central question is whether a second term for Governor Radda would accelerate the delivery of solar mini-grids, expand recycling infrastructure, attract green investment and demonstrate measurable progress towards the state’s environmental targets.

The Verdict

For both Makinde and Radda, the 2027 elections present an opportunity to demonstrate that environmental sustainability can become an integral part of economic development rather than remain a collection of policy announcements. While the former seeks to translate his experience in electricity reform and climate governance in Oyo State into a national development strategy, the latter eyes a renewed mandate to consolidate the environmental and economic programmes introduced during his first term. Ultimately, the credibility of their green agendas will depend not only on what they promise ahead of the elections, but also on how effectively they connect those promises with measurable achievements, realistic financing and transparent implementation. For Nigerians facing unreliable electricity, rising environmental risks and inadequate waste management systems, the real measure of political commitment will be whether these policies deliver cleaner communities, affordable energy, sustainable employment and lasting economic opportunities.

The 2027 Green Agenda welcomes constructive engagement from electoral candidates (executive and legislative) at the national and gubernatorial levels. Contact hello@sostainability.co.uk & africlime@gmail.com / 09121425989 / +234 703 456 0393