2027: APC governors will deliver Tinubu’s re-election — Uzodimma
August 28, 2026 7:03 pm
A file picture of Imo State Governor, Hope Uzodimma
Imo State Governor and Chairman of the Progressive Governors Forum, Hope Uzodimma, on Thursday said all governors of the All Progressives Congress were unanimous in their support for President Bola Tinubu’s re-election bid.
He declared that the responsibility for delivering the 2027 election ultimately rests on the shoulders of governors at the subnational level.
Uzodimma spoke after a meeting between the President and APC governors shortly after the 160th National Economic Council meeting held in Abuja on Thursday.
The materials from the briefing were made available by the State House on Friday.
Speaking on behalf of the governors, Uzodima said the audience with the President covered governance and politics, with governance dominating most of the discussion, particularly around reducing the cost of living for Nigerians.
He explained, “We spoke basically on two issues: one, politics, and the other, governance.
“Governance, which took most of the time, is about how to reduce the cost of living in Nigeria, the cost of transportation, food security, agriculture, bringing prosperity to the people, ensuring that the dividends of the various reforms we have gotten over the years trickle down to the people, so the people can feel it.”
He said the governors also carried out an impact assessment of the reforms and identified areas requiring improvement, expressing satisfaction with the discussions.
“All the governors of the states were very happy about that,” he said.
On the political front, Uzodima disclosed that Tinubu formally briefed the governors on the constitution of the Presidential Campaign Council, a development he said was received with total agreement.
“What we have agreed with Mr President is that he will be delivered. All the APC governors are solidly behind Mr President.
“To that extent, governors are expected to deliver their states, and they know where the shoe pinches.
“So the governors will identify what is required to carry out a successful and colourful campaign in their various states,” he said.
The Imo Governor stressed that electoral success would depend on the combined effort of subnational mobilisation and federal-level coordination.
He said, “The responsibility of delivering the election lies on the shoulders of the governors at the subnational level, and it is a combination of what happens at the subnational level and the push at the national level that will yield the result we are looking for.
“We are in total agreement, and we are united. We are supporting Mr President’s re-election and we are supporting the success of the election.
“We work with our party, the All Progressives Congress, and with other leaders of the party, where the governors will lead the campaign and the election proper.”
Nasarawa State Governor, Abdullahi Sule, said Tinubu emphasised the utilisation of the country’s gas resources.
“My own amazement is actually the amount of knowledge that Mr President has about gas in this country.
“The President spoke at length about gas utilisation, especially in the area of CNG, and Mr President has committed a lot of resources, exactly how much it is going to take to invest when it comes to gas utilisation in the country. “Those are the types of things that Mr President discussed in detail,” Sule said.
He explained that the President repeatedly emphasised party unity, national unity and poverty reduction as central priorities for governors going forward.
Sule explained, “Mr President continued to emphasise the unity of the party, the unity of the country, reduction of poverty in this country, and what governors must do to ensure that we do everything possible to reduce poverty and to make sure that we carry everybody along.”
Echoing remarks by his Imo State counterpart on the elections, Sule reiterated that governors would lead campaign efforts in their respective states.
“Elections are not in Abuja. They are at the states. So the governors take the lead in this campaign at the various states, and the campaign council is going to look into it, and they will do whatever it is that needs to be done to make sure that is done,” he said.
Thursday’s meeting followed the release of the APC’s Presidential Campaign Council list on August 22, 2026, which named President Tinubu and Vice President Kashim Shettima as chairman and vice chairman respectively, with former Zamfara State Governor Senator Abdulaziz Yari as Director-General and Imo State Governor Hope Uzodimma as Secretary.
The council’s structure spans deputy director-generals for administration, mobilisation, media and election planning, alongside zonal directors and coordinators covering all six geopolitical zones.
The gathering also came just days after the Independent National Electoral Commission’s official commencement of campaigns for the 2027 general election on August 19, 2026.
With three years of experience, Stephen, The PUNCH correspondent, has been covering Nigeria’s presidency, politics, security, immigration and trafficking in persons
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