The Economist: Tinubu on Track for 2027 Win

By Saheed Olatunji, Reporter

The Economist has predicts a 2027 election victory for President Bola Tinubu, even as economic hardship and security concerns continue.

The publication, in its latest edition, believes Nigeria’s “complicated electoral dynamics” tend to be in favour of the president.

It acknowledges that the president’s economic reforms, including the abolition of fuel subsidy, have brought a degree of stability to Nigeria ,with inflation falling, government revenue rising and investment picking up.

But it says insecurity remains a massive challenge, especially in the north.

The Economist describes the opposition as splintered and disorganised.

It quoes Joachim MacEbong of Control Risks, a consultancy as saying “Because it’s not a united ticket, that anti-APC vote is not coalesced into a single vote,”

It says in Maiduguri “some people say they do not even know who else is on the ballot besides Mr Tinubu.”

PIG also projects APC to edge NDC, ADC

The APC is similarly projected by the Political Intelligence Group (PIG) of Politico.ng to be ahead of its main rivals, ADC and NDC in the run up to the elections.

The PIG, in its October electoral map released yesterday , said the projection was a snapshot of the political landscape based on developments at the time of the assessment.

It gave APC 19 states, NDC 10 states and ADC eight states.”

The October assessment comes after a month marked by several developments that PIG said could influence the political calculations ahead of the 2027 election.

Omotola identified the reported denial of entry into Benue State involving Peter Obi, one of President Bola Tinubu’s leading political opponents, as one of the notable developments during September.

He also cited the controversy surrounding President Tinubu’s working vacation, which generated debate over the president’s absence from the country, as another development considered in the group’s assessment.

READ ALSO: Corruption primary obstacle to economic growth – Tinubu
The group also pointed to former Vice President Atiku Abubakar’s continued focus on the fuel subsidy issue and what it described as a “sudden turnaround” as part of the political developments observed during the month.

North-Central APC targets highest votes for Tinubu in 2027

All Progressives Congress (APC) stakeholders in the North-Central have resolved to mobilise the highest number of votes across the six geopolitical zones for President Bola Tinubu in next year’s election.

The stakeholders, comprising governors, political appointees and other party leaders from the six North-Central states and the Federal Capital Territory, also fixed October 10, 2026, for a mass rally in Lafia, Nasarawa State, to demonstrate the zone’s support for Tinubu’s re-election bid.

The resolutions were reached yesterday at a planning meeting of the North Central Grassroots Mobilisation Movement held at the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation in Abuja.

Reading the resolutions after the meeting, APC National Chairman, Prof. Nentawe Yilwatda, said the stakeholders unanimously agreed to rally behind Tinubu and mobilise extensively across the zone ahead of the election.

“We agreed that overwhelmingly, the North Central would mobilize votes and will overwhelmingly support Mr. President as our Candidate in the 2027 general elections”, Yilwatda said.

He said the October 10 rally would bring together APC members and supporters from Benue, Kogi, Kwara, Nasarawa, Niger and Plateau states, as well as the Federal Capital Territory, to demonstrate the zone’s support for the President.

According to him, the stakeholders intend to use the rally to “show that solidarity for Mr. President and tell the world that we’re out to give the highest number of votes for Mr. President compared to all the six geopolitical zones in Nigeria.”

Yilwatda said the meeting also approved medical outreaches targeted at poor and vulnerable residents with health challenges in selected parts of the North-Central.

The stakeholders also resolved to constitute a reconciliation committee to address grievances within the party and bring together aggrieved members ahead of the elections.

“We are also going to constitute a reconciliation committee to ensure that where we have grievances, we mend them and aggregate all the votes and support from Mr. President towards the 2027 general election”, the APC chairman said.

He added that the stakeholders were calling on Nigerians, party members and supporters of the President to work towards his re-election in 2027.

Yilwatda said another meeting would be held next week to intensify preparations and mobilisation for what he described as the “all-mother-of-rallies” in Lafia.

Earlier, Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Sen. George Akume, who is the Grand Patron of the North Central Grassroots Mobilisation Network, said the group was established specifically to mobilise votes across the geopolitical zone for the Tinubu-Shettima ticket in 2027.

Akume said the mobilisation strategy would be driven by three major programmes, including the grand rally in Lafia, medical outreach programmes and a grassroots advocacy tour accompanied by town hall meetings across the zone.

According to the SGF, the advocacy campaign will cover the 19 senatorial districts in the six North-Central states and the Federal Capital Territory, taking the mobilisation drive directly to communities and grassroots supporters.

He said the medical outreach would provide services including comprehensive eye screening and treatment, refraction and prescription of spectacles, cataract assessment and selected cataract surgical services where appropriate facilities are available.

Other services listed by Akume included glaucoma screening and diabetic eye screening.

The SGF said the mobilisation programme, developed by the National Coordinator of the Movement, Arch. Sonny Echono, his team and other stakeholders, had received the endorsement of the APC National Secretariat.

He said the objective was to strengthen the political mobilisation machinery of the North-Central and maximise the zone’s contribution to the President’s re-election campaign.

At the meeting, Echono presented the work plan for the mobilisation exercise across the North-Central, outlining proposed activities and strategies for reaching party members and supporters across the zone.

The Chairman of the Movement and Governor of Nasarawa State, Abdullahi Sule, also provided guidance on areas the group should prioritise in its mobilisation and campaign activities.

Other political leaders at the meeting included former Plateau State Governor, Senator Simon Lalong; Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris; as well as government appointees, party leaders and senior APC members from the zone.

The meeting effectively sets in motion an organised North-Central campaign structure combining political reconciliation, grassroots advocacy, rallies and social intervention programmes as APC stakeholders intensify preparations for the 2027 elections.