BY EMMA PETER, ABUJA
The Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Senator George Akume, has rallied political stakeholders across the North-Central geopolitical zone to intensify grassroots mobilisation for the re-election of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Vice President Kashim Shettima in the 2027 presidential election.
Akume, who is the Grand Patron of the North-Central Grassroots Mobilisation Network, spoke on Friday, October 2, 2026, at a strategic meeting with the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Prof. Nentawe Yilwatda; Governor of Nasarawa State, Abdullahi A. Sule; and other political leaders and stakeholders in Abuja.
He said the mobilisation initiative was designed to move political engagement beyond Abuja and into communities across the North-Central, stressing the importance of grassroots structures in the electoral process.
According to Akume, the network has drawn up a three-pronged programme comprising a North-Central Grand Rally in Lafia, Nasarawa State, on October 10, a medical outreach programme and a grassroots advocacy tour with town hall meetings across the region.
The advocacy tour is expected to cover the 19 senatorial districts in the six North-Central states and the Federal Capital Territory, providing an avenue for direct engagement with communities on government policies and programmes while also allowing stakeholders to listen to issues raised by residents.
Akume said the medical outreach would complement the political mobilisation with humanitarian interventions at the grassroots.
He listed eye screening and treatment, refraction and prescription of spectacles, cataract assessment and selected cataract surgical services where facilities permit, as well as glaucoma and diabetic eye screening among the services planned under the programme.
The SGF said the initiative was put together by the National Coordinator of the network and Executive Secretary of the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund), Arch. Sonny Echono, his team and other stakeholders, with the endorsement of the APC National Secretariat.
He urged ministers, governors, party leaders, political stakeholders and grassroots actors to approach the mobilisation exercise with commitment and unity, noting that the North-Central would play an important role in the 2027 electoral process.
Speaking at the meeting, APC National Chairman, Prof. Nentawe Yilwatda, said stakeholders from across the North-Central had agreed to work collectively to mobilise support for President Tinubu ahead of the 2027 election.
Yilwatda announced that APC members and supporters from the six states in the zone would be mobilised for the October 10 rally in Lafia, describing it as part of efforts to demonstrate the party’s support for the President.
He also disclosed that the stakeholders had agreed to establish a reconciliation committee to address grievances and promote greater unity among party members and political actors across the zone.
According to him, resolving internal differences would strengthen the mobilisation structure and enable stakeholders to work together ahead of the election.
The APC chairman said the stakeholders would reconvene the following week to intensify preparations for the Lafia rally and coordinate the wider grassroots mobilisation programme.
Echono, in his remarks, said the initiative was aimed at bringing stakeholders across the North-Central together under a coordinated mobilisation structure and strengthening the zone’s political engagement ahead of the 2027 election.
He said the programme would involve sustained communication, media engagement, grassroots mobilisation and town hall meetings across the zone.
Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, assured the organisers of media support for the planned activities, while urging stakeholders to pursue reconciliation and resolve grievances through dialogue and engagement.
Governor Abdullahi A. Sule, who is Chairman of the North-Central Governors Forum, commended Akume and the network’s leadership for bringing stakeholders together.
Sule said the political structure of the APC across the North-Central, including the six states controlled by the party and the support of the Federal Capital Territory administration, provided a platform for coordinated mobilisation ahead of the 2027 election.
The meeting was attended by other political leaders, government appointees and stakeholders from across the North-Central.
The stakeholders are expected to continue preparations for the October 10 Lafia rally and subsequent grassroots advocacy, town hall meetings and humanitarian outreach programmes across the zone.
