2027: APC group urges members to shun abuse, embrace issue-based campaigns

A pro-All Progressives Congress (APC) group, the Concerned APC National Stakeholders Forum, has urged party members and supporters to shun insults, intimidation and unverified claims in their campaign for President Bola Tinubu’s re-election in the 2027 general election.

The group said the APC’s campaign must be anchored on credible engagement, persuasion and the communication of the administration’s achievements to Nigerians, particularly at the grassroots.

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The National Coordinator and Convener of the forum, Dr Dominic Alancha, made the call on Thursday in Abuja at the inauguration of state coordinators of the Tinubu/Shettima Grassroots Canvassers.

Alancha said the inauguration marked the beginning of a structured grassroots movement aimed at taking the administration’s message, achievements and campaign directly to Nigerians.

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He said the initiative was designed to build a formidable grassroots network capable of mobilising support from polling units, wards and local government areas to the state level for the APC’s victory in 2027.

Addressing the newly inaugurated coordinators and other party stakeholders, Alancha urged them to engage Nigerians respectfully, listen to their concerns and focus their campaign on issues.

“You are not merely coordinators. You are ambassadors of our movement. You are grassroots communicators. You are vote mobilisers.You are listeners to the people. And you are frontline defenders of the democratic mandate of our party.

“Our responsibility is to engage Nigerians respectfully and honestly on issues. We must explain the policies and programmes of the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu administration, communicate the reforms being undertaken, acknowledge the challenges confronting our people and, most importantly, demonstrate why continuity, stability and progressive governance matter to Nigeria’s future.

“We must never engage the people with arrogance. We must listen to their concerns. Where Nigerians are angry, we must listen. Where they are hopeful, we must strengthen that hope. Where they do not understand government policies, we must explain them. And where misinformation is being circulated, we must respond with facts, maturity and civility.

“Our campaign must be a campaign of ideas, engagement, persuasion and performance—not intimidation or abuse,” he said.

The convener also stressed that the APC’s campaign must extend beyond Abuja and state capitals to communities and polling units across the country, noting that grassroots mobilisation would be critical to the party’s electoral success.

He said, “The political reality before us is simple; elections are won at the grassroots. The people who determine elections are not only those who speak at political rallies or appear on television. They are the men and women in our communities; the market women, farmers, artisans, youths, professionals, civil servants, religious leaders, traditional institutions and ordinary citizens who ultimately walk to the polling unit to cast their votes.

“Therefore, if we want to secure victory in 2027, we must take politics beyond Abuja and the state capitals into every ward, community and polling unit. Know your communities. Know your people. Identify their concerns. Recruit credible canvassers. Communicate our message. Mobilise eligible voters. And maintain contact with the people—not only during election season, but continuously. If we deliver the polling units, we will deliver the wards. If we deliver the wards, we will deliver the local governments. If we deliver the local governments, we will deliver the states. And if we deliver the states, we will secure victory in 2027.”

Alancha also cautioned the coordinators against creating unnecessary conflicts with opposition parties, urging them to engage political opponents constructively while promoting the APC’s agenda.

“I urge every coordinator here today: Do not create unnecessary enemies. Do not insult political opponents. Do not spread unverified information. Do not allow personal ambition to destroy collective interest.
Instead, build bridges. Engage communities. Win people through persuasion. And demonstrate that progressive politics can be conducted with dignity and responsibility”, he added.

Also speaking, the Chairman of the Governing Board of the Lower Benue River Basin Development Authority, Dr Amos Gizo Yadukso, highlighted what he described as the achievements of the Tinubu administration and called for the President’s continued stay in office.

Yadukso said Tinubu was concerned about the wellbeing of Nigerians and argued that effectively communicating the administration’s achievements to people at the grassroots would strengthen support for his re-election.

According to him, “I want to assure Nigerians that this man (President Tinubu), he didn’t come to power to make money. He was a rich man. He came to power to make us rich. And I want to assure you that once we do our business, he will come in next year, with a landslide.”

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