2027: APGA adopts Tinubu, flags off nationwide campaign

…Soludo cites South-East projects, urges strategic voting By Steve Oko The All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) has adopted President Bola Tinubu as its presidential candidate for the 2027 general election, with Anambra State Governor, Prof. Chukwuma Soludo, saying the decision was informed by the need for progressive forces to work together. Soludo made the declaration on Friday while flagging off APGA’s nationwide election campaign at Alex Ekwueme Square, Awka, Anambra State, where the party unveiled more than 253 candidates contesting various elective positions across the country.

The governor, who is APGA’s National Leader, said the decision to support Tinubu was consistent with the party’s political tradition, recalling that APGA had similarly adopted former President Goodluck Jonathan in the 2011 and 2015 presidential elections. He said the party’s support for Tinubu was also informed by what he described as the Federal Government’s commitment to the South-East, particularly in infrastructure development.

“Today, as we unveil our campaign as the foremost progressive party in Nigeria, we are also officially adopting President Bola Tinubu as the presidential candidate of APGA. “We did it in 2011 and 2015 for President Jonathan. We are repeating it in 2027 because progressives are working together to support a President who loves Ndi Igbo and Ndi Anambra,” Soludo declared.

Citing the dualisation and rehabilitation of the Enugu-Onitsha Expressway and other federal projects in the region, the governor urged voters to approach the 2027 elections with political pragmatism rather than sentiment. He said voting decisions should be guided by tangible benefits, enlightened self-interest and strategic political considerations capable of advancing the interests of the South-East.

Soludo also charged APGA candidates and members to intensify grassroots mobilisation through door-to-door campaigns, assuring them that he would personally join the candidates in soliciting votes. He expressed confidence in the party’s electoral prospects, urging voters to distinguish between reason and emotion ahead of the January 16 and February 6, 2027 elections.

At the event, Soludo presented party flags to 44 APGA candidates contesting legislative seats in Anambra State. The candidates comprised three senatorial candidates, 11 House of Representatives candidates and 30 State House of Assembly candidates. Earlier, APGA National Chairman, Barrister Sly Ezeokenwa, commended Soludo for what he described as transparent and competitive party primaries conducted in compliance with electoral laws.

Ezeokenwa attributed the influx of new members into the party to Soludo’s people-oriented policies, describing Anambra as APGA’s political stronghold. He expressed confidence that the party would record a decisive victory in the forthcoming elections.