Stakeholders of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the Southeast on Saturday formally endorsed President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for a second term, pledging to deliver massive votes for his re-election in the 2027 general elections.
The endorsement followed a high-level Southeast APC stakeholders’ meeting at the Presidential Hotel, Enugu, attended by party leaders, governors, lawmakers, elders and key stakeholders from across the zone, who reviewed the region’s political direction and resolved to align fully with the ruling party at the centre.
Speaking at the meeting, Imo State Governor and Chairman of the Southeast Governors’ Forum, Hope Uzodimma, said President Tinubu had entrusted the Southeast with the political responsibility of his re-election, describing it as both an honour and a call to duty.
Uzodimma, who also serves as Director-General of the APC 2027 election project, said the Southeast could no longer afford political isolation, noting that the zone’s low contribution to the APC’s victory in the 2023 presidential election weakened its influence at the national level.
He said while other regions delivered between 34 and 54 per cent of votes to the APC in 2023, the Southeast recorded about six per cent, a trend he described as politically unsustainable.
According to him, the political tide has since shifted, with the APC gaining stronger footing in the zone.
Uzodimma said the party now controls three of the five Southeast states, up from two in 2023, while its representation in the Senate has increased from six to eight members.
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He added that APC seats in the House of Representatives from the zone have risen from eight to 23.
“These numbers inspire hope, but they also pose a challenge,” Uzodimma said. “The growth among leaders must translate to votes in 2027. Politics is pay as you earn. No zone can produce a president alone, and provincial voting only keeps a region on the margins of power.”
He said President Tinubu deserved a second term to consolidate ongoing economic and security reforms, citing improvements in foreign exchange stability, security operations, access to student loans through NELFUND, infrastructure development and bold economic policies avoided by previous administrations.
Enugu State Governor, Dr Peter Mbah, described the endorsement and growing alignment of the Southeast with the APC as a “paradigm shift anchored on pragmatism.”
He said the region had moved from “standing at the crossroads of history to shaping history,” stressing that the decision to support Tinubu’s re-election was based on facts, vision and tangible benefits already accruing to the Southeast.
Mbah cited federal interventions such as the revival of the Eastern Railway corridor, gas and energy projects, and the approval of the concession of the Enugu Airport, which he said would position the state as an international gateway for the region.
“The Renewed Hope Agenda is beyond a slogan,” Mbah said. “It aligns vision at the centre with delivery at the states. These are strategic decisions that reflect inclusive governance.”
Ebonyi State Governor, Francis Nwifuru, expressed confidence that all Southeast governors would be members of the APC by 2027, urging party leaders to embrace reconciliation and sacrifice to manage the growing influx of new members.
He said the priority should now be effective party management rather than further party building.
At the end of the meeting, stakeholders issued a communiqué unanimously declaring their total support for President Tinubu as the APC’s sole presidential candidate for the 2027 elections.
The communiqué rejected divisive politics and called for unity among political leaders and the wider Igbo population, urging Ndi Igbo at home and in the diaspora to embrace the APC as the most viable platform for advancing the region’s political and economic interests.
The leaders pledged to mobilise human, material and political resources to deliver bloc votes for Tinubu across the five Southeast states in 2027, assigning coordination responsibilities to governors.
The motion endorsing President Tinubu was moved by former Senate President, Senator Pius Anyim, and seconded by another former Senate President, Senator Ken Nnamani, who described the decision as strategic and courageous.
Other dignitaries at the meeting included Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Benjamin Kalu; former Governors Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi and Ikedi Ohakim; as well as senators, lawmakers and party elders from the zone.
The meeting ended with a call for sustained unity, voter mobilisation and strategic engagement ahead of the 2027 polls, as the Southeast APC declared that the region had spoken with one voice.
