Analyst urges Nigerian CEOs to plan now for 2027 election risks
- A policy analyst says company bosses should prepare for how the 2027 election could affect their businesses.
- He argues that waiting for the result before planning leaves firms exposed to currency, policy and political shocks.
- The advice covers cash, staffing, training and how decisions are made inside companies.
Nigerian chief executives should start preparing now for how the 2027 general election could affect their businesses, rather than waiting for the result, a policy analyst has advised.
In a piece published by Leadership, Dr Jeff Ukachukwu argued that an election can name a president but cannot tell a manufacturer what imported inputs will cost, or assure a distributor that customers will pay. The hard business decisions, he wrote, remain after the campaigning ends.
His advice lands at a time when many Nigerian firms are already juggling currency swings, import costs and weak consumer spending. For an ordinary worker, the stakes are practical: whether a factory keeps running, whether salaries are paid on time, and whether businesses hire or freeze recruitment.
What he is asking companies to do
Ukachukwu said the starting point should be the business horizon, not the ballot. Factories, distribution networks and staff skills take years to build, so bosses should ask what their companies must be able to do by 2030 and which commitments are essential to get there.
He warned against building strategy around a preferred political outcome, saying a chief executive can mistake personal confidence for organisational readiness. A company then inherits a wager where it needs a strategy.
He also cautioned that caution itself has costs. Deferred maintenance can weaken operations, long recruitment freezes can push out capable employees, and cuts to training can save cash while eroding the skills needed for recovery.
On evidence, he said a speech, a published regulation and a visible change in operating conditions carry different weight and should not be treated as the same. National figures such as exchange rate movements, he added, only matter when linked to a company's own exposure.
He suggested firms map out several possible futures, including policy continuity, a major policy reset, prolonged political uncertainty and an economic shock under any administration. For an importer facing currency volatility, he said "monitor the exchange rate" gives little direction; a workable response sets a review threshold, names who is responsible and lists the actions available.
Staff should not be left in the dark
Ukachukwu said employees experience uncertainty through worries about pay, workload and security, and silence allows rumour to fill the gap. Leaders, he wrote, should say what they know, admit what is unsettled, and explain how decisions affecting people will be made.
He urged boards to start before the election: test the assumptions under their strategies, rehearse difficult scenarios and agree how decisions will be reviewed. A rehearsal, he noted, may show that a planned response needs cash the company lacks or authority nobody has been given, giving management time to fix the gap early.
This article is based on Dr Ukachukwu's published analysis.
