Politics
2027: APC-PCC Women Directorate Targets 40m Votes For Tinubu, Shettima
The Co-Chair of the Directorate of Women Mobilisation of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential Campaign Council (PCC), Dr. Betta Edu, has said the women are targeting about 40 million votes for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Vice President Kashim Shettima in the 2027 presidential election.
She explained that achieving the ambitious target would require sustained grassroots mobilisation, particularly among women, rather than merely assembling large crowds at political rallies.
The former Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation said that Nigeria has moved beyond the difficult phase of economic reforms, saying President Tinubu’s second term will usher in an era of prosperity for Nigerians.
Edu, who expressed confidence in Tinubu’s re-election in 2027, said the country was already at the threshold of economic prosperity, following the reforms undertaken by the President’s administration.
She spoke in Kaduna on Thursday when she led a delegation of the PCC Women Mobilisation Directorate on a courtesy visit to the Deputy Governor of Kaduna State, Dr. Hadiza Sabuwa Balarabe, who chairs the Local Organising Committee (LOC) for the APC presidential campaign flag-off in the state.
According to her, Nigerians have endured the challenging phase of the administration’s economic reforms and are now positioned to reap their benefits under Tinubu’s renewed mandate.
“We have gone through the reform phase already. Now it is time for prosperity. We are already at the gate of prosperity once President Tinubu is re-elected,” Edu declared.
“Our plan as the PCC mobilisation directorate is to see that we can mobilise at least close to 40 million votes for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. And we cannot do this without getting down to the grassroots,” she said.
Edu stressed that the directorate would adopt a people-oriented campaign strategy involving direct engagement with women in markets, communities and households to understand their challenges and communicate the administration’s achievements.
“We want to engage with women. We want to find out what their challenges are. We want to find out how best we can get to the grassroots,” she added.
She urged women leaders and APC supporters in Kaduna State to intensify their mobilisation efforts through peaceful engagement, persuasion and door-to-door campaigns, warning against intimidation or any form of coercion.
The PCC official also commended Governor Uba Sani for what she described as remarkable strides in infrastructural development and social service delivery, particularly in road construction, public transportation and the revitalisation of primary healthcare facilities across Kaduna State.
Edu equally praised the Deputy Governor, Dr. Balarabe, for breaking political barriers as the first elected female deputy governor in Northwest Nigeria, describing her emergence as a significant milestone in women’s political participation and leadership.
Responding, Balarabe assured the delegation that the Kaduna State Government and the LOC were working tirelessly to ensure a successful presidential campaign flag-off, noting that several planning and coordination meetings had already been held.
The deputy governor said Kaduna’s strategic position as the political capital of Northern Nigeria placed an enormous responsibility on the state to demonstrate its organisational strength and capacity to host a successful campaign event.
“We try as much as possible to take any assignment given to us seriously,” she said, while urging members of the PCC Women Mobilisation Directorate to work closely with the LOC and other stakeholders to ensure the success of the rally.
Balarabe also challenged women leaders to sustain their mobilisation activities beyond the presidential campaign flag-off, stressing that the ultimate objective was to translate political support into actual votes during the 2027 elections.
“Our work as women is to tell all women to be on our side,” she said, urging the directorate to take the message of the Renewed Hope Agenda and the administration’s achievements directly to women at the grassroots.
She expressed confidence that women across Kaduna State and the country could play a decisive role in securing victory for Tinubu and Shettima if they remained united, focused and committed to the mobilisation drive.
The PCC delegation’s visit formed part of preparations for the APC presidential campaign flag-off in Kaduna, as the Women Mobilisation Directorate intensifies efforts to build grassroots support ahead of the 2027 general elections.
There seems to be a crack within the media directorate of the African Democratic Congress Presidential Campaign Council (ADC-PCC).
The list, which was unveiled on September 24, had former presidential candidate of Labour Party, Chief Dele Momodu, as Deputy General in charge of Media and Communications.
Momodu played the same role in 2023 when Alhaji Atiku Abubakar contested the presidential election on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
Former National Publicity Secretary of the party, Kola Ologbondiyan and Atiku’s Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, were named media and publicity and strategic communication respectively.
They are supposed to be working on the directive of Chief Dele Momodu.
Others in the media directorate are Ladan Salihu (Branding); Moji Rhodes-Vvour (Digital and Online media) and David Iyofor (Content Development), while the trio of Kenneth Okonkwo, Keturah King and Nana Kazure, spokespersons.
DAILY GUIDE observed that there is no coordination in the media directorate. Ologbondiyan and Shaibu have been competing among themselves on who that would issue more statements, most times on the same topic, and apparently, without recourse to Chief Momodu who supposed to be their boss.
On Tuesday, Atiku addressed a press conference in Abuja, where he announced his campaign flag off on Wednesday. Dele Momodu was not at the press conference, and neither was Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, the ADC National Publicity Secretary.
This was the third press conferences Atiku has held in the absence of Momodu. They were coordinated by Phrank.
Momodu was said to have been in Lagos since he attended the council’s inauguration on October 9.
Party source blamed it on Atiku, whom he said has not yet realised that he is now ADC candidate.
“How can a candidate address a press conference on the flag off of his campaign without head of his media directorate or the National Publicity Secretary of the party?
“Even the campaign list was released by his private media aide. This is supposed not to be so.
“It is the party, and not the candidate that constitutes presidential campaign council. Bolaji (Abdullahi) should be the one to release the list to the media, not Phrank Shaibu, Atiku’s media aide,” he stated.
According to him, most NWC members got to know the release of the list through Shaibu.
“We were still debating who would be the DG when we saw the list. Who authorised it? I do not know,” he added.
The source could, however, not give reasons why Dele Momodu has chosen to stay in Lagos rather than Abuja to coordinate the media directorate.
“We thought he would be in Abuja last week. May be he has not finished what he is doing there,” he said.
Though, efforts to get reaction from the ADC officials over the issue were not successful.
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Benue State has demanded an immediate and comprehensive explanation from Governor Hyacinth Alia over the reported N200 billion financial scandal involving his administration, following reports that four senior government officials have been detained and questioned by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
PDP called on Alia to immediately address the people of Benue State on the reported N200 billion financial scandal and the circumstances surrounding the detention of four senior officials of his administration.
The party demanded governor Alia’s alleged involvement in the financial transactions under investigation and clarify whether any of the questioned expenditures were authorized by him.
The statement issued by the PDP State Publicity Secretary, Bright Yima Antyo, asked the governor to make public the relevant details of the contracts, payments and financial transactions implicated in the allegations, subject to the requirements of the ongoing investigation.
The statement further demanded that governor Alia should cooperate fully with investigators and ensure that no government official is allowed to obstruct or compromise the investigation.
According to PDP, “This is an allegation of monumental proportions that cannot be dismissed with the usual government propaganda, political theatrics or attempts to shift responsibility, which have become characteristics of the Alia administration. It concerns an enormous amount of public money belonging to the people of Benue State, and the Governor owes them an explanation”
PDP stated that, “More disturbing is the reported allegation that the financial transactions under investigation involve contract inflation, diversion and misappropriation of public funds, with claims that some of the activities were carried out under the Governor’s directives.
“Governor Alia must understand that he cannot preside over the finances of a state, exercise extraordinary control over government accounts and then claim innocence or maintain a convenient silence when allegations of this magnitude emerge”
The statement reads, “Since assuming office on May 29, 2023, Governor Alia has centralized control of the state’s financial operations, locking government accounts and concentrating financial authority within his administration. If, as reported, billions of naira have disappeared through questionable transactions, the Governor must explain how such funds were authorized, released, expended and accounted for.
“The question Benue people are asking is simple: If the Governor has exercised such extensive control over the state’s finances, who should take responsibility for explaining the whereabouts of N200 billion in public funds?”
PDP added, “It is unacceptable that four senior officials of the administration are reportedly in EFCC custody over allegations involving public funds, yet the Governor, who heads the government under investigation, has maintained suspicious silence”
“Is Governor Alia suggesting that such an enormous financial scandal could have happened without his knowledge? Were the contracts awarded without his knowledge? Were the payments authorized without his knowledge? Who approved the transactions, and who benefited from them?
“The Governor cannot impose and enjoy authoritarian powers of controlling the state’s financial machinery while attempting to distance himself from the consequences of decisions taken under his administration.
The statement warned that, “PDP wishes to make it clear that Benue State is not the personal estate of Governor Alia, and its treasury is not his private account. Every naira belongs to the people and must be accounted for. The EFCC must be allowed to investigate these allegations independently, professionally and without political interference.
“Immunity is not a licence to evade investigation. The constitutional immunity granted to a sitting Governor under Section 308 of the 1999 Constitution does not place the occupant of the office beyond the investigative powers of anti-corruption agencies. The provision protects an incumbent Governor from being subjected to civil or criminal proceedings, arrest or imprisonment while in office; it does not prohibit the EFCC or other legally empowered agencies from investigating allegations of financial misconduct involving a governor.
“Investigation and prosecution are two distinct legal processes. Therefore, Governor Alia cannot invoke constitutional immunity as a reason to avoid scrutiny. Where evidence establishes a case to answer, the law provides for prosecution when the immunity ceases to apply.
Governor Alia must stop treating accountability as a matter of choice. Public office is a position of trust, not a shield against scrutiny” PDP said.
Former Kogi State Governor, Yahaya Bello, has declared that he will deliver President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Governor Abba Yusuf in Kano in 2027 general elections.
Bello maintained that if necessary he would relocate to Kano and spends two weeks to mobilise massively for Tinubu’s re-election.
The former governor who stated this in Kano during a political event said he was prepared to take the mobilisation campaign beyond political speeches and personally participate in efforts to deliver the two leaders.
“We have a responsibility to mobilise our people and ensure that their votes count. After eight years of President Muhammadu Buhari, who is from the North, President Tinubu has not even completed his first four-year term. Must he complete his eight years before power returns to the North?” he asked.
On his part, Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf said his administration’s commitment to protecting the rights of non-indigenous communities and ensuring their participation in governance.
Yusuf said his administration had appointed special advisers representing Yoruba, Igbo and northern minority communities as part of efforts to promote inclusiveness.
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