Pro-Tinubu group sets up campaign structure in S’East

File photo of President Bola Tinubu.

A pro-Tinubu group, Ndigbo for Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu 2027 Forum, has established an independent campaign committee to mobilise support for President Bola Tinubu across the South-East ahead of the 2027 election.

The group said its committee would complement the All Progressives Congress Presidential Campaign Council rather than compete with the party’s official structure, signalling an additional mobilisation effort in a region where the APC has struggled to secure substantial presidential support in recent elections.

The committee is chaired by Amb Sunday Udeh, with Dr Ugwuoke Ugwuoke Jr as secretary, according to a statement issued on Thursday by the forum’s National Coordinator, Okechukwu Isiguzoro, and its Board of Trustees chairman, Uchechukwu Okwukwu.

The group congratulated South-East members appointed to the APC Presidential Campaign Council but urged them to work towards reversing the party’s performance in the region in the 2015, 2019 and 2023 presidential elections.

It argued that improving Tinubu’s prospects in the South-East would require more than campaign appointments and declarations, calling for sustained engagement with Igbo communities and attention to their political and development concerns.

“Electoral success cannot be achieved through declarations alone. It requires credible political organisation, constructive dialogue, consistent grassroots engagement and demonstrable commitment to the welfare and inclusion of the Southeast within the Nigerian federation,” the statement said.

The forum urged the newly appointed campaign council members to consider its proposed electoral blueprint, which it said would provide a framework for grassroots mobilisation and deeper engagement with voters.

It also said the blueprint would be presented to Tinubu or his son, Seyi Tinubu, whom it identified as possible channels for communicating its proposals to the President.

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The group claimed that Tinubu could defeat Nigeria Democratic Congress presidential candidate Peter Obi in the South-East in 2027 if the APC adopted a more effective engagement strategy and demonstrated a sustained commitment to the region’s aspirations.

It did not, however, provide polling data or other evidence to support that claim.

The South-East has been a difficult electoral terrain for the APC in recent presidential contests, with Obi’s strong showing in 2023 underscoring the challenge facing Tinubu’s supporters as they seek to broaden the President’s appeal in the region.

The forum said stronger support in the South-East could improve Tinubu’s overall national prospects, insisting that the region should not be treated as an electoral afterthought.

It urged the campaign council members to work in unity and pursue what it described as responsive governance and meaningful political inclusion, arguing that these would be essential to winning greater support among South-East voters.