APC moves to bring Tinubu support groups under one campaign

From Desmond Mgboh, Kano

The All Progressives Congress (APC) has begun moves to harmonise hundreds of groups campaigning for President Bola Tinubu across the country into a single coordinated political structure.

The party said the exercise was aimed at ending fragmented operations and conflicting campaign messages among support groups as preparations gather momentum for the President’s re-election campaign.

APC National Chairman, Nentawe Yilwatda, disclosed this at a town hall meeting with party supporters in Kano. He was represented by his Special Adviser, Yusuf Dingyadi.

Yilwatda said the party had identified hundreds of support groups operating independently under different names associated with the President, many without formal links to the APC’s structure.

“We cannot go into 2027 with fragmented structures. Mr. President deserves a well-coordinated, message-disciplined campaign. That is why the APC, through the Support Groups Council, will profile all Tinubu support groups nationwide,” he said.

Under the arrangement, the APC will verify the membership, leadership, areas of operation and organisational capacity of the various groups before formally recognising them.

Yilwatda said groups that meet the party’s requirements would be accredited and their members issued official identification cards.

He disclosed that a technical committee had been constituted to establish a central database of support groups operating across the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory.

According to him, the database would also enable the party to monitor their activities, coordinate training and streamline the allocation of campaign resources.

Yilwatda said the initiative was partly informed by the APC’s experience during the 2023 presidential election, when some support groups operated at cross-purposes and circulated conflicting campaign messages.

“We need unity of purpose and one voice for the Renewed Hope Agenda,” he said.

The APC chairman said members of the Zinariya Tinubu Support Group would play a role in voter mobilisation and sensitisation as well as efforts to protect the party’s votes in Kano and other states in the North-West.

Coordinator of the group, Fatima Gamawa, welcomed the APC’s decision to coordinate the support organisations, saying it would make their activities more effective and reduce duplication and waste of campaign resources.

She pledged the group’s continued support for the APC and President Tinubu ahead of the 2027 election.