Niger: PDP kicks as APC sets up Tinubu’s re-election group
The Niger State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has formed a sensitisation group to mobilise support for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s re-election bid in 2027 through a statewide sensitisation tour. The state APC Chairman, Aminu Musa Bobi, said the initiative would be undertaken in collaboration with the Niger State Coordinators Forum to mobilise […]
The Niger State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has formed a sensitisation group to mobilise support for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s re-election bid in 2027 through a statewide sensitisation tour.
The state APC Chairman, Aminu Musa Bobi, said the initiative would be undertaken in collaboration with the Niger State Coordinators Forum to mobilise support across the state.
Bobi, who spoke when officials of the forum visited him in his office, said the tour was in line with Governor Mohammed Umaru Bago’s recent declaration of himself as Director General of Tinubu’s 2027 presidential campaign.
He added that the state party structure would provide feeding, transportation, and accommodation during the outreach, stressing that the governor’s pronouncement was “a call to action and a task that must be accomplished.”
Chairman of the Coordinators Forum, Dr Umar Mohammed Dyadya, also dismissed speculations that Governor Bago was lobbying to become Tinubu’s running mate in 2027. According to him, the forum had instead resolved to appoint APC Chairman Bobi as patron of the movement to strengthen the push for Tinubu’s re-election.
Governor Bago had recently stirred controversy when, during an interview on Arise TV, he declared himself Tinubu’s campaign DG for 2027, a move some political observers described as an attempt to ride on the president’s political structure.
But the development has sparked criticism from the opposition. The state vice chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Yahaya Abdullahi Ability, described the planned tour as a violation of the Constitution and the Electoral Act.
He accused the APC of engaging in premature campaigns, noting that the governor had already been openly canvassing for Tinubu despite having yet to deliver meaningful projects in the state.
“We have raised concerns several times that what the governor and APC in Niger State are doing is in contravention of the Constitution and the Electoral Act,” he said.
“The governor even went on national television to announce himself as campaign DG for Tinubu’s re-election. But is it time for campaign? All these things are violations, and it is very unfortunate.”
He challenged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to “rise up to the occasion” by cautioning the APC and sanctioning politicians or parties engaging in early campaigns.
“It is two years into this administration, and the governor has not commissioned any tangible project anywhere in the state,” Abdullahi added. “We expect INEC to stop looking away while these violations continue unchecked.”