2027: APC governors vow to back Tinubu, reject alliances against party candidates

The Progressives Governors Forum (PGF), the umbrella body of governors elected on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC), has declared that its members will not support any political alliance or arrangement capable of undermining President Bola Tinubu’s re-election bid in the 2027 general election.

The governors also resolved not to endorse any arrangement that could weaken the ruling party or adversely affect APC candidates contesting elective positions at any level of the 2027 elections.

The position was contained in a communique issued after a closed-door meeting of the governors on Monday night at the Imo State Governor’s Lodge in Abuja.

The Chairman of the forum and Imo State Governor, Senator Hope Uzodimma, read the communique and said the governors were committed to protecting the interests of the APC and ensuring that the party’s candidates receive their support ahead of the elections.

APC governors reject conflicting political arrangements

Uzodimma said the forum would not participate in, support or endorse any alliance capable of creating confusion, divided loyalty or competing interests within the APC.

“The APC Governors Forum unanimously resolved that its members will not participate in, support or endorse any alliance or political arrangement capable of undermining the re-election of Mr President, weakening the APC or adversely affecting any candidate of the party at all levels,” he said.

He added that the governors had no intention of supporting candidates who were not officially sponsored by the APC, stressing that the party’s candidates were the ones entitled to their campaign backing.

“In other words, the forum has no intention to support any candidate at any level that is not an APC candidate because our candidates who are contesting the election are being sponsored by our party,” Uzodimma said.

The declaration places the APC governors firmly behind the party’s candidates as political activities intensify ahead of the 2027 general election.

Wike-backed candidates in focus

The governors’ position comes against the backdrop of political developments involving the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, and some APC governors.

Wike is backing the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate in Imo State, where Uzodimma is the incumbent governor. He is also supporting Senator Saliu Mustapha in the Kwara Central senatorial election against Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq.

Mustapha, a former APC member, defected to the PDP after he was denied the APC ticket for the Kwara Central senatorial contest in favour of AbdulRazaq.

Although the governors did not specifically mention Wike in their communique, their insistence that members should support only APC candidates highlights the importance the forum places on party loyalty ahead of the polls.

Governors to lead Tinubu campaign

The PGF also stated that its members would occupy frontline positions in the campaign for Tinubu’s re-election in their respective states.

Uzodimma said the governors’ campaign commitment would be exclusively directed towards APC candidates, while the party’s campaign structures would be aligned with the President’s re-election objectives.

“The governors’ campaign commitment is exclusively to all APC candidates. All levels of the party campaign architecture will align with the expectations of Mr President and the strategic objectives of the party,” he said.

The forum identified grassroots mobilisation as one of the key pillars of the forthcoming campaign, with the governors expected to engage communities and different demographic groups across their states.

The governors also pledged to strengthen internal party unity and harmonise campaign structures from the national level down to constituencies.

They said they would continue to drive development in their respective states in line with the administration’s Renewed Hope agenda, while using their political structures to strengthen the APC ahead of the 2027 elections.