2027: APC LGC Chairmen Plan Mega Rally, Vow 70% Votes For Tinubu

The Progressive Local Government Chairmen’s Forum, the umbrella body of 685 local government council chairmen of the All Progressives Congress (APC), has announced plans to organise a mega rally in Abuja to endorse President Bola Tinubu for a second term in office.

The forum’s Chairman and Chairman of Chanchaga Local Government Council of Niger State, Dr Mustafa Jibril Alheri, disclosed this when he led other officials on a courtesy visit to the APC National Chairman, Prof Nentawe Yilwatda, at the party’s national secretariat in Abuja on Wednesday.

Alheri said the forum, comprising leaders at the third tier of government who are closest to the grassroots, had commenced nationwide mobilisation in support of Tinubu’s re-election bid in 2027.

He said the administration’s achievements in various sectors, as well as its efforts to strengthen local government autonomy, had increased support for the president and the APC at the grassroots.

Alheri also appealed to the APC leadership to facilitate stronger collaboration between the forum and the Progressive Governors’ Forum, chaired by Imo State Governor, Hope Uzodinma, to deepen grassroots coordination ahead of the 2027 elections.

“We are the closest tier of government to the people. We understand the grassroots and possess first-hand intelligence about our communities. The success of the APC will be anchored on effective grassroots mobilisation and that is why we have come to declare our support for President Tinubu and his administration,” he said.

According to him, the forum currently has more than 685 local government chairmen, while the APC also controls 31 states.

“Nobody is being coerced. People are seeing what the government is doing, and that is why they are joining.

“What we anticipate is that at least over 70 per cent of the votes that will be cast will go to our party. It is in that light that we are bringing ourselves together to mobilise because we know that we are working very hard. We are not just lying down, sleeping, and saying that we are going to win the next election.

“We are connected to the grassroots. We need to translate the policies of His Excellency, the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, down to the grassroots, and that’s what we are doing in collaboration with the leadership of the APC here in Abuja.

“God willing, we believe that it’s going to be a landslide victory because we are clear, the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria is clear on what he is doing. He doesn’t mince words. He wants to see local governments strengthened. 

He wants to stop the subsidy challenges that we have had over the years,” Alheri added.

He said the planned mega rally would further demonstrate the forum’s support for Tinubu and provide a platform for coordinating the party’s grassroots mobilisation ahead of the 2027 elections.

In his response, Yilwatda described local government chairmen as some of the APC’s most important political assets and key to the party’s electoral victory.

The APC chairman assured the forum that the party would work closely with it through the office of the National Secretary and facilitate collaboration with the Progressive Governors’ Forum.

“You are nearer to the people than anyone else. You understand your communities and know what the people need. You are the strongest pillars we have to win elections.

“If you hold a political office, you cannot say you are not a politician. If you are unwilling to mobilise people and win votes, then you should not accept political appointments,” he said.