Presidential candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC), Omoyele Sowore, has pledged to introduce a N500,000 monthly living minimum wage for Nigerian workers if elected president in the 2027 general elections.
Sowore made the pledge in an interview with Independent, published on Sunday, while outlining the AAC’s agenda for the 2027 elections.
The activist and publisher of Sahara Reporters also promised to provide 24-hour electricity, make education free and accessible at all levels, construct one million public mixed-income homes and reform tenancy laws to reduce the burden of advance rent payments.
He said the proposed living wage was necessary because Nigerian workers could no longer survive on what he described as starvation wages, while political officeholders continued to receive significantly higher remuneration.
“We are proposing a ₦500,000 monthly living minimum wage because Nigerian workers cannot continue receiving starvation wages while senators, governors and political appointees consume millions every month,” Sowore said.
He also promised that an AAC administration would provide uninterrupted electricity, arguing that no serious industrial economy could continue to depend on generators.
According to him, education would be free and accessible at all levels, while the government would embark on the construction of one million public mixed-income homes and reform tenancy laws to reduce the pressure of paying one or two years’ rent in advance.
Sowore further pledged to make healthcare a right, industrialise the country, expand agricultural production and processing, rebuild infrastructure and create dignified employment.
On security, he promised to reform the police and other security institutions, improve the welfare of personnel and deploy modern technology, including drones and advanced intelligence systems, to tackle insecurity.
The AAC candidate also vowed to fight corruption and recover public resources allegedly stolen by political officeholders, insisting that Nigeria’s wealth should benefit Nigerians.
Sowore is one of the 18 presidential candidates formally announced by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for the 2027 election.
He said the AAC would run a “people-funded campaign”, rather than depend on wealthy individuals or political patrons.
Defending the ideological direction of his party, Sowore said Nigerians were more prepared than ever for a leftist government, arguing that successive capitalist administrations had failed to adequately address poverty and inequality.
He said the AAC’s socialism would focus on universal education, healthcare, decent housing, electricity, living wages and social protection.
Sowore, who emerged as the AAC presidential candidate through consensus, also criticised the economic policies of the Tinubu administration, promising that an AAC government would reverse what he described as the philosophy behind the policies.
Despite recording low votes in the 2019 and 2023 presidential elections, Sowore said the AAC’s chances in 2027 had never been better.
He attributed the party’s optimism to its independence from political godfathers, governors and wealthy patrons, saying its campaign would be driven by grassroots structures across wards, polling units, communities, campuses, markets and workplaces.
