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Vows to mobilise 2 million votes for Tinubu
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From John Adams, Minna
Niger State Governor Umaru Bago on Monday inaugurated a 525-member state Presidential/Gubernatorial Campaign Council of the All Progressives Congress for the 2027 elections, the largest since 1999.
The governor said the state would mobilise two million votes for President Bola Tinubu in the next general election, targeting grassroots voters.
The campaign council, which has the former deputy governor under the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) administration in the state, Alhaji Ahmed Ibeto, as the director-general, comprises members of the state executive council, local government chairmen, councillors, state and national lawmakers, ministers, directors-general and coordinators.
Speaking at the inauguration in Government House, he described the structure as spanning party units to the state level, adding that this included political appointees, with total membership exceeding 100,000 over the years.
According to him, “If everybody would bring their own votes, it would give us more than one million votes. But our target is beyond that. The ambition this time around is to bring out over 2 million votes, and by the grace of God we will do that.”
The governor credited the APC’s origins as a coalition of parties that defeated the main opposition and urged the party to welcome returnees who had earlier defected.
He called for constructive media coverage, warned against overheating the polity or triggering insecurity, saying that the campaign would highlight the federal government’s economic policies, improved revenue and job creation.
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Bago listed recent infrastructure and security gains, including better roads and freer movement of goods in parts of the state, as part of what the government has done.
He then announced that the North Central Presidential Campaign office in Minna would be commissioned next week, with possible attendance by the President, Vice President, Senate President, Speaker or National Chairman.
The Minister of Information, Idris Malagi, praised the choice of leadership for the council and said the APC would campaign on the administration’s record of transforming the Nigerian economy over the past three and a half years.
He urged the newly appointed members to prioritise the collective good of the state and party unity from top to bottom.
The APC North Central Chairman, Alhaji Muazu Bawa Rijau, while congratulating the members of the campaign council, stressed that the 2027 campaign would not underestimate opponents, saying the party aimed to re-elect Governor Bago alongside its senators, House of Representatives members and state assembly members.
Director-General of the campaign council, Ahmed Ibeto, accepted the assignment on behalf of members, pledging hard work, strategic coordination, grassroots engagement, unity, discipline and compliance with electoral guidelines.
He said the council would establish operational frameworks across directorates, local governments, wards and units, and would value experience while welcoming new ideas.
