By Nkechi Eze
The Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Senator George Akume, has led political stakeholders across the North Central geopolitical zone in mobilising grassroots support for the re-election of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Vice President Kashim Shettima in the 2027 presidential election.
According to an official statement signed by Chris Ugwuegbulam, Head, Information & Public Relations Department, OSGF, Akume made the call on Friday, October 2, 2026, during a strategic meeting with the APC National Chairman, Prof. Nentawe Yilwatda, Governor of Nasarawa State, Abdullahi A. Sule, and other political leaders and stakeholders of the North Central Grassroots Mobilization Network in Abuja.
Akume, who is the Grand Patron of the network, said the mobilisation initiative was designed to take the campaign beyond Abuja and into communities across the North Central, stressing that the strength of electoral mobilisation lies at the grassroots.
He said the network had outlined three major activities to drive the mobilisation campaign, including a North Central Grand Rally scheduled for October 10 in Lafia, Nasarawa State; a comprehensive medical outreach across states in the zone; and a grassroots advocacy tour and town hall meetings covering the 19 senatorial districts across the six North Central states and the Federal Capital Territory.
The SGF said the medical outreach would complement the political mobilisation with humanitarian services, including eye screening, prescription of spectacles, cataract assessment and selected cataract surgeries where facilities permit, as well as glaucoma and diabetic eye screening.
He added that the advocacy tour and town hall meetings would provide opportunities for direct engagement with communities to communicate the policies and programmes of the Tinubu administration while listening to concerns at the grassroots.
Akume urged political leaders, ministers, governors, party stakeholders and grassroots actors to approach the assignment with commitment, unity and confidence, stressing the importance of the North Central in the 2027 electoral process.
The APC National Chairman, Prof. Nentawe Yilwatda, said stakeholders across the zone had resolved to mobilise substantial support for President Tinubu ahead of the 2027 general election.
Yilwatda said governors, government appointees and other political actors would work collectively across the six states and the FCT to strengthen grassroots mobilisation and demonstrate their support for the President.
He announced that APC members and supporters would be mobilised from across the North Central for the October 10 rally in Lafia, alongside plans for medical outreach programmes in selected communities.
The APC chairman also disclosed that stakeholders had resolved to establish a reconciliation committee to address grievances and promote unity among party members and political stakeholders across the zone.
He said the committee would help resolve internal differences and strengthen coordination ahead of the election, adding that stakeholders would reconvene the following week to intensify preparations for the Lafia rally and coordinate the wider mobilisation programme.
The National Coordinator of the North Central Grassroots Mobilization Network and Executive Secretary of the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund), Arch. Sonny Echono, said the programme was aimed at uniting the North Central as a cohesive bloc while mobilising electoral support for President Tinubu.
He said the initiative would involve sustained media engagement and grassroots mobilisation across the zone, with emphasis on building a common front, identifying shared priorities and reconciling differences among stakeholders.
The Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, assured the stakeholders of media support for the mobilisation activities, while calling for broader reconciliation efforts across the North Central.
Also speaking, the Chairman of the North Central Governors Forum and Governor of Nasarawa State, Abdullahi A. Sule, commended Akume and Echono for bringing stakeholders together to strengthen the party ahead of the 2027 elections.
Sule noted that six states in the zone were now under the APC, alongside the Federal Capital Territory administration, adding that the presence of the APC National Chairman and the SGF would provide further institutional support for the mobilisation effort.
