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2027 Poll: UNICEF Challenges Politicians to Put Price Tag on Promises to Adamawa Children
By Yagana Ali, Yola
As political activities ahead of the 2027 general elections gather momentum, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has challenged politicians seeking elective offices in Adamawa State to move beyond campaign promises and explain how their proposed programmes for children will be financed and implemented.
UNICEF said the media, civil society organisations and voters must demand concrete answers from political candidates on their plans for education, healthcare, nutrition, clean water, sanitation and protection of vulnerable children.
The call was made at a Public Finance for Children dialogue organized by UNICEF, with support from the Adamawa State Government through the Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning and Multilateral Coordination.
The dialogue brought together stakeholders who emphasized the need for greater scrutiny of public spending and stronger accountability for resources allocated to programmes and services affecting children.
Representing the Chief of Field Office, UNICEF Bauchi Field Office, Dr. Nhuzhat Rafique, UNICEF Education Specialist, Abdurrahman Ibrahim Ado, told journalists that the media had a critical role to play in ensuring that children’s welfare did not become another unfulfilled campaign promise.
He urged journalists to interrogate political manifestos and ask candidates seeking public office how much their promises concerning children would cost, where the resources would come from and when the intended beneficiaries would begin to feel the impact.
According to him, reporting on political campaigns should go beyond reproducing speeches and slogans, stressing that journalists should track commitments and hold elected officials accountable for their implementation.
He noted that decisions on public finance have a direct impact on the lives of children, particularly in areas such as education, primary healthcare, nutrition, water and sanitation, and child protection.
For many children in Adamawa, stakeholders observed, the outcome of the 2027 elections could have consequences far beyond who occupies political offices.
They said it could determine whether children remain in school, whether pregnant women have timely access to healthcare, whether malnourished children receive life-saving treatment and whether vulnerable children are protected from abuse, violence and child labour.
The stakeholders therefore called for child-focused budgeting and stronger monitoring of government expenditure to ensure that funds allocated for children’s programmes are actually released and effectively utilized.
They also urged the media to make public finance a major part of election reporting by comparing candidates’ promises with available resources and following up on such commitments after elections.
As political parties and aspirants intensify their campaigns ahead of 2027, the emerging demand from stakeholders is that promises affecting children must carry more than political rhetoric—they must have a clear price tag, a credible funding source and measurable timelines for delivery.
For Adamawa’s children, they stressed, the ultimate measure of the 2027 election will not only be who wins the votes, but whether the promises made before the polls translate into better schools, stronger healthcare, adequate nutrition, clean water and greater protection for the state’s most vulnerable citizens.