Restoration of harmony and cohesion in five state chapters ahead of the 2027 elections has taken centre stage in the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC). Campaigns& Elections. 

The National Working Committee (NWC) has sent delegations to the troubled chapters to resolve the disputes arising from governorship, National Assembly and House of Assembly primaries.

The states are Benue, Oyo, Osun, Niger and Kwara, where the party has been hit by litigations, defections and threats of defections by aggrieved chieftains.

During its retreat at the weekend in Maiduguri, the Borno State capital, the national leadership did a strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) analysis of the party across the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), as part of its preparations for the 2027 general election.

National Secretary, Senator Ajibola Basiru, said the retreat brought together for the first time the members of the NWC and the National Executive Committee (NEC).

He said the two organs reasoned that reconciliation of aggrieved members is a major step in the party’s preparations for the polls.

In Oyo State, supporters of former Power Minister, Adebayo Adelabu, have not teamed up with the governorship candidate, Senator Sharafadeen Alli, after the shadow poll.

In Kwara, a crisis erupted between Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq and a former governorship aspirant, Senator Saliu Mustapha, over the emergence of House of Assembly Speaker Saliu Yakubu Danladi as candidate.

Following the collapse of his governorship and senatorial ambitions in the APC, Mustapha defected to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) where he picked the senatorial ticket for Kwara Central.

Some other members of the APC who believed they were not carried along in the choice of governorship candidate have also not reconciled with the governor.

The situation brought bad blood between Governor AbdulRazaq and PDP National Leader Nyesom Wike.

The Benue chapter is also polarised by the crisis of confidence between Governor Hyacinth Alia and the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator George Akume, over the outcome of primaries.

Although concerted efforts have been made to bring the two camps together, both sides have refused to close ranks.

In Osun, APC went to the August governorship poll as a divided party, and became more divided after its defeat by Governor Ademola Adeleke of the Accord.

In Niger, the outcome of the primaries generated bitterness.

Aggrieved members are threatening to defect should the national leadership fail to intervene.

Basiru said the party noted the unfinished business of reconciliation, adding that it cannot be taken with levity.

He said: “In the NWC, winning elections is our work. There were robust discussions on how to strengthen the party where we are weak and consolidate where we are strong.

“We also accord priority to reconciliation. We have been to Oyo and Niger. We have identified Benue, Kwara and Osun. NWC has resolved to send representations. We have also made recommendations to the president.”

However, the National Secretary said although APC is battling with 153 litigations from across the country, the number is lower than those of previous electioneering.

Crucial decisions taken at the retreat include the choice of Oladiran Iyantan, a chieftain from Ondo State, as National Vice Chairman (Southwest), as a replacement for Dr Isaacs Kekemeke, who is now senatorial candidate for Ondo South, and modalities for the choice of party agents.

There was a massive turnout in Arogbo, headquarters of Ese-Odo Local Government Area of Ondo State, as a political support group, Ondo Riverine for Tinubu and Ojogo, in collaboration with the Apoi Youths Congress, staged a solidarity walk in support of President Bola Tinubu’s re-election bid and Hon. Donald Kimikanboh Ojogo.

The well-attended rally, which drew youths, women, community leaders and supporters from Apoi, Arogbo and neighbouring riverine communities, saw participants march through major streets and junctions in the town, chanting solidarity songs and displaying banners with inscriptions in support of Tinubu and Ojogo.

Ojogo, a former Commissioner for Information in Ondo State, is the incumbent member representing Ilaje/Ese-Odo Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives and the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) for the constituency in the forthcoming general elections.

According to the organisers, the programme was sponsored by the Minister of Interior, Dr Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, and facilitated by a former House of Representatives member, Hon. Kolade Victor Akinjo (Esq).

The walk is the latest in a series of grassroots mobilisation efforts by pro-Tinubu groups in Ondo South Senatorial District, aimed at consolidating support for the President in the coastal communities ahead of the 2027 general elections.

Speaking with journalists during the walk, the Chairman of the Apoi Youths Congress, Comrade Arekete Joshua, commended Tunji-Ojo for his unwavering support for the group, describing him as its Grand Patron.

Joshua said the minister’s financial and moral support had encouraged members to remain committed to their activities across the riverine communities, noting that his contributions to youth development in the state were commendable.

He explained that the solidarity walk was organised to demonstrate the resolve of riverine youths to stand behind President Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda and to ensure massive support for Ojogo’s return to the National Assembly.

“We are here today to show that the riverine people are fully behind President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Hon. Donald Ojogo. We believe in their leadership and we will continue to mobilise our people from house to house, community to community,” Joshua said.

He expressed optimism that Tunji-Ojo would continue to support youth-oriented programmes across the state, particularly in the riverine areas where he said more empowerment initiatives were needed.

In his remarks, the Director-General of the Ondo Riverine for Tinubu Support Group, Joshua Akinte, thanked the minister for sponsoring the event and praised participants for turning out in large numbers.

Akinte said the event provided an opportunity for members and supporters to openly identify with Tinubu’s re-election project and Ojogo’s candidacy, stressing that the group would not relent in its mobilisation drive.

He urged youths in Ilaje and Ese-Odo to remain united, peaceful and orderly in their political activities, noting that violence-free participation was crucial to democratic growth.

The organisers, while thanking participants for the peaceful conduct of the rally, pledged to extend the mobilisation to other communities in Ilaje and Ese-Odo Local Government Areas in the coming weeks.

The Presidency has reacted to the controversy generated by the continued absence of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, saying the President is hale and hearty.

There have been concern over the absence of the President who travelled for a three-week vacation but did not return when he ought to last Monday.

Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, had said the president extended the vacation by “a few days”.

Many Nigerians, especially opposition figures, have demanded information on the whereabouts of Tinubu.

In a statement on Sunday, Onanuga said Tinubu did not need to be in Abuja physically to perform his duties.

“Nigeria’s President is hale and hearty. He has been on a working vacation, which he is perfectly entitled to. In this digital age, he does not need to be physically present in Abuja to do the work for which he was elected in 2023.”

“And we have seen that he has indeed been working, meeting investors in France, most recently facilitating a $7 billion deep-sea port in Ogun Waterside, an initiative of the Ogun State Government.”

On the absence of Tinubu from the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), Onanuga said, “Two other important African leaders were not in New York for the UNGA: South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa and Egypt’s Abdel Fattah el-Sisi.

“Ramaphosa booked himself off public engagements. Johannesburg and Pretoria made no uproar over Ramaphosa’s absence at UNGA. And Egypt did not erupt that Sisi did not go to New York.

“The Nigerian President announced he was taking his annual vacation and delegated attendance to his able and dependable Vice President. Yet Peter Obi pretends to be unaware of President Tinubu’s whereabouts and asks the puerile question his followers are asking on X.”

The Presidential spokesman concluded by saying Tinubu would return home this week to mark Nigeria’s 66th Independence Anniversary and honour MKO Abiola by attending the premiere of a movie in MKO’s memory in Lagos.