The All Progressives Congress (APC) are building a movement to secure bloc votes from the South and North-Central regions for President Bola Tinubu ahead of the 2027 presidential election.
Naijaonpoint recalls that over the past few months, top northern groups, particularly the Northern Elders Forum and the Arewa Consultative Forum, have expressed displeasure with Tinubu’s administration, declaring that they might not support him for a second term.
The groups have, at different times, accused Tinubu of marginalising the region in political appointments, project distribution and efforts to tackle insecurity.
Similarly, political figures such as a former Governor of Kaduna State, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai, former Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, former APC National Vice Chairman (North-West), Salihu Lukman, and other loyalists of the late President Muhammadu Buhari have been mobilising northerners against the President.
However, insiders at the APC secretariat who spoke with Punch said the move to secure South and North-Central bloc vote for Tinubu was conceived after intelligence reports indicated potential political threats from the core North and the emergence of the African Democratic Party-led coalition of opposition leaders.
Also a party chieftain named the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila; Chairman of the APC Governors’ Forum, Hope Uzodimma; National Secretary of the APC, Ajibola Basiru; and the lawmaker representing Ikeja Federal Constituency, James Faleke, as the brains behind the plan.
In the same vein, APC official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to Punch, said the ruling party’s game plan was designed to ensure that all states in the South are secured for Tinubu in 2027.
the source attributed the recent defections of PDP governors in the South to the “materialisation of the countermeasure”, saying everything was in place for the APC to win the region.
The APC official said, “The motive behind this move is that no opposition should win any state in the South, to guard against what we experienced in 2023.
“The team has successfully delivered the South to the President. There is nothing stopping us from winning all the southern states. Except for Abia and Oyo, all other states in the South are now with the APC.
“The Governor of Osun State declared support for Asiwaju (the President) and was willing to join the APC. Once we secure the targeted bloc votes in the South, we are 50 per cent down the victory line.”
Another senior APC official said the party had, over the past few months, made strategic moves to reclaim the North-Central states it had lost ahead of the 2027 presidential election.
The source added, “According to the plan on the ground, the North-Central is targeted to be the final straw that will break the camel’s back. I am aware that the team has commissioned some individuals in the region to ensure that the President secures bloc votes from there.
“Once we secure the South and the North-Central, whatever votes any opposing candidate gets from the North-East and North-West will be neutralised, and we will carry the day. Do not forget that the Vice President is from Borno, and there are efforts to ensure substantial votes from Kaduna State. The team is working hard to deliver as planned.”