By Prevail Inegbenose
The All Progressives Congress (APC) has promised to recruit 78,000 additional military and police personnel, establish four new Army divisions and recruit 30,150 Civil Defence officers as part of its security targets for a second term covering 2027 to 2031.
The party said the proposed recruitment would strengthen Nigeria’s capacity to tackle terrorism, banditry, kidnapping and other security threats, while improving police presence in communities, commercial centres, schools and major transport corridors.
The commitments are contained in the APC’s 2027–2031 presidential election manifesto, presented by the Minister of Trade, Industry and Investment, Dr Jumoke Oduwole, at its media launch in Abuja on Tuesday.
According to the manifesto, the party plans to recruit and train 28,000 additional military personnel and complete the establishment and equipping of four new Army divisions in Makurdi, Ilorin, Jalingo and Benin City.
It also pledged to train and deploy 50,000 newly recruited police officers, with a target of achieving a police-to-citizen ratio of one officer to 400 Nigerians.
The manifesto further disclosed plans to recruit 30,150 Civil Defence personnel to take over static private-protection duties from the police, allowing more officers to concentrate on frontline policing and crime prevention.
On tackling insurgency and kidnapping, the APC promised to sustain intelligence-led military operations against criminal networks, establish specialised zonal counter-terrorism capabilities and strengthen security around schools, markets, places of worship and major transport corridors.
It also pledged to introduce independent verification of reported military operational outcomes and improve the screening, rehabilitation and reintegration of former combatants through standardised reporting.
The party said it would pursue a constitutional and legal framework for accountable state and community policing in collaboration with the National Assembly, State Houses of Assembly and state governors.
Under its police reform agenda, the manifesto proposed nationwide deployment of digital police records, geographic mapping tools, officers’ body cameras, emergency dispatch channels and forensic infrastructure.
The APC also promised to strengthen Nigeria’s defence industry through local production of ammunition, armoured vehicles, protective equipment and tactical drones, alongside improved intelligence coordination and faster responses to security threats.
On security personnel welfare, the manifesto pledged full implementation of approved salary increases, improved operational allowances, affordable housing and healthcare, as well as faster processing of insurance and pension benefits for families of fallen heroes.
The party also promised to rehabilitate dilapidated police barracks and expand psychological support, tactical training and rehabilitation programmes for security personnel.
Beyond security, the APC’s second-term agenda targets six per cent annual economic growth, a 50 per cent reduction in youth unemployment and increased access to credit for economically active Nigerians by 2031.
The manifesto also sets targets to halve the number of out-of-school children, deploy 20,000 additional teachers, expand health insurance coverage to 40 per cent of Nigerians and ensure that at least 90 per cent of primary healthcare facilities are functional.
In the housing sector, the party pledged to work towards delivering 200,000 homes through government-backed housing schemes, mortgage financing and licensed private developers. It also targets scaling available electricity generation towards 10,000 megawatts.
Describing the proposed second term as the phase for translating ongoing reforms into measurable improvements, the manifesto said the administration’s central promise for 2027–2031 was national prosperity that Nigerians would feel in their homes, markets, farms, factories and workplaces.
The APC said its ultimate objective was to deliver safer communities, stronger institutions and tangible economic progress across the states, local governments, wards and communities by 2031.
