Ahead of the 2027 general election, indications have emerged that there is a conscious effort by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s supporters and his party, the All Progressives Congress (APC), to ensure that the president emerges victorious at the polls across the southern states with good margins. As a result, the party, which had seven states in the region under its control at the end of the 2023 elections – Lagos, Ogun, Ekiti, Ondo, Imo, Ebonyi, Cross River – now has nine; with victory at the September 21, 2024Edo State governorship election and the recent defection of Governor Sheriff Oborevwori of Delta State to the APC, with all federal and state lawmakers and other key stakeholders, including the vice presidential candidate of the PDP in the 2023 general election, Ifeanyi Okowa, boosting its camp.

While major defections to the party in the magnitude of what transpired in Delta have not been recorded lately, developments in the polity point to an ‘Operation Jagabanise the South’ well ahead of the 2027 election.
While Tinubu would be marking his two years anniversary in office in five days time, underground works by different political parties towards outwitting each other at the 2027 polls had long started.

Last Wednesday, former governor of Kaduna State, Nasir El-Rufai, a founding member of the APC who defected to the Social Democratic Party (SDP) in April this year, confirmed that leaders of the planned coalition had been meeting, stressing that they would ensure that “President Tinubu goes back to Lagos” after the 2027 polls.

However, the President’s men are not neophytes in the game of power. That same Wednesday, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Senators’ Caucus in Osun State endorsed President Tinubu as its preferred candidate for the 2027 presidential elections.

“This endorsement is not just symbolic — it reflects our deep confidence in President Tinubu’s ability to deliver on the promise of democracy. The Osun PDP Senators’ Caucus is united and unwavering in its support. There is no internal dissent; we stand as one,” the senators declared.

In a joint statement, Senator Kamarudeen Oyewumi (Osun West), Senator Olubiyi Ajagunla (Osun Central), and Senator Francis Fadahunsi (Osun East), expressed their support for Tinubu’s leadership and a second term in office.

They praised the administration’s initiatives, noting visible improvements in national security and a notable reduction in food prices, which they described as evidence of the President’s effective policies.

The senators also affirmed their pride in aligning with what they termed President Tinubu’s “visionary and progressive agenda,” urging him to sustain and accelerate his developmental strides for the benefit of all Nigerians.

Reports had it that the endorsement followed a meeting held on Tuesday, where the senators unanimously backed the President, citing his track record in governance, economic reforms, and infrastructure development.

Although the Osun senators did not announce their defection from the PDP, the development underscored ongoing efforts by Tinubu’s loyalists to secure his southern base, believing that charity begins at home even in the political circle.
Also, last Thursday, Governor Umo Eno of Akwa Ibom State reportedly informed his appointeesabout his plan to defect to the APC within the shortest possible time.

Eno, who is governing on the platform of the PDP, had last month declared his support for President Tibunu’s second-term bid, citing the president’s commitment to national development through critical infrastructure projects like the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway.

He had made the declaration while representing the President during the official flag-off of the 65-kilometre, three-lane dual carriageway section of the highway project in Nsit-Antai Local Council of Akwa Ibom State.

He described Tinubu as a visionary and de-tribalised leader whose agenda is bringing tangible development to all parts of Nigeria, irrespective of party lines or political affiliations.

His words: “I want to express the sentiments of the people of Akwa Ibom State for allowing the project to pass through our state. It could have gone elsewhere, so we do not take this for granted. Mr. President has approved and embarked on this audacious project that is set to unlock our economic potential, especially for coastal communities. This initiative aligns with his Renewed Hope Agenda and deserves to be completed under his leadership.
“Let me end by assuring our people-loving President that we will stand by him. He deserves to complete his eight years in office. He cannot start this work and abandon it. Someone else may not finish it with the same passion. The hand that has started this work will complete it. Our prayer is for God to grant Mr. President good health and strength to finish what he has begun so it doesn’t become another abandoned project like the East-West Road.”

Clearing every doubt, the governorbroke the news of his defection plan during the state’s Executive Council meeting last Thursday.

He had held a private meeting with Vice President Kashim Shettima last Tuesday at the Presidential Villa, after which he spoke with State House correspondents, describing President Tinubu’s two years in office as wonderful.

A source at the Government House,Uyo, who pleaded anonymity, revealed that Eno has directed all political appointees in the state, including commissioners, to defect with him or resign from their positions.

According to the source, it was no longer news that he had made up his mind to defect to the APC, adding that anyone who claims ignorance was still living in the 18th century.

The source stated that he warned his appointees that he had nothing to negotiate with them other than for them to follow him or leave the stage.
“Anybody who claims he is not aware of my intention to leave PDP is still living in the 18th century. Apart from elected officials like House of Assembly members and Local Government Chairmen, I have nothing to negotiate with you.
“Let me tell you, anybody who believes when I leave PDP he will use the party structure to fight me is lying because I will still control the PDP structure,” the governor said.

Meanwhile, in a move similar to what the Osun senators did, Governor Charles Soludo of Anambra State had during the President’s recent Working Visit to the state disclosed that his party, the AllProgressives Grand Alliance (APGA) had adopted Tinubu as the party’s presidential candidate ahead of the 2027 elections.
At a reception organised in honour of the president, Soludo said: “In 2011 before I joined APGA in 2013, APGA took an official position to support and work with the political party and government at the centre.

“Indeed, in that year, APGA adopted the sitting president as its presidential candidate and I want to report that policy by APGA has not changed.

“Coincidentally Mr. President, at this moment in history, the government at the centre is the one that also professes progressivism.

“As the foremost progressive party in Nigeria, APGA is strategically and ideologically aligned with the centre (APC-led Federal Government). And so far, Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, the progressives are working well together.”

Also, it could be recalled that Governors Peter Mba of Enugu State and Alex Otti of Abia State, who were elected on the platforms of the PDP and Labour Party (LP) respectively, were part of the President’s trip to Anambra State, a pointer to his good working relationship with them. This may have prompted the recent claim by the Minister of Works, Dave Umahi, that all Southeast governors are supporting President Tinubu.

According to a release issued last Tuesday by presidential spokesperson, Bayo Onanuga, the Minister, stated these in a feature interview for an upcoming State House documentary marking President Tinubu’s second year in office.

“The Igbo man is enterprising and blessed with God-given wisdom. What Ndi Igbo seek is fairness, a Nigeria that treats every zone equally. That is what President Tinubu is doing.

“Before, when I was governor and deputy governor, one of our major concerns in Ebonyi State was the lack of federal presence. But today, nobody remembers that issue anymore. Under President Tinubu, at least four federal projects are ongoing in Ebonyi State. Today, the South East has a Minister of Works for the first time, and we are seeing real projects — Port Harcourt to Enugu, Enugu to Abakaliki, Enugu to Onitsha, Onitsha to Owerri, and the Second Niger Bridge. The President has already paid 30 per cent of the cost of that bridge.

“All the governors in the South East, regardless of party affiliation, are working with the President,” he declared.

Umahi also hinted at plans by South East leaders to endorse President Tinubu for re-election come 2027.

“We’re even planning a summit to bring together all South East leaders to formally endorse the President for the 2027 elections. We want our projects to be completed, the country’s unity to be strengthened and proper integration of Ndi Igbo,” he said.

The former governor of Ebonyi State urged key regional opposition figures to align with the President for the greater good of the South East.

“Leadership is not about self — it’s about the people. If someone else is already doing what you would have done for your people, support him. I call on my brother, His Excellency Peter Obi, to join us and work with Mr. President.

“He must be part of this summit where we will collectively endorse President Tinubu for the 2027 election. I say it boldly: the South East is happy with the President,” he noted.

Despite the gains so far made by the president and his party, those opposed to his return to power after 2027 strongly believe that they would still unseat him and are forging on with their coalition plan.

To former Governor of Kaduna State, Nasir El-Rufai, who is a founding member of the APC but defected to the Social Democratic Party (SDP), the coalition does not need the backing of governors to unseat the President in the 2027 elections.
Speaking recently during a media chat with journalists in Kano, he said: “We are trying to offer Nigerians a real alternative — something different from what they have seen before.

“A governor has only one vote. Nigerians — millions of them — have more power than 36 governors combined. It doesn’t matter if you gather all the governors together; if the people of Nigeria say they are not with you, it is over,” he said.

And pointing to Tinubu’s defeat in Lagos in the 2023 elections, El-Rufai added: “The president had a sitting governor in Lagos — and still lost Lagos. So, what is the real value of a governor?”

In the 2023 elections, Tinubu lost in majority of the southern states, including his state, Lagos, where he polled 572,606 votes as against 582,454 votes polled by Peter Obi of the LP. Other states where he lost were: Enugu where he polled 4,772 votes as against Obi’s 428,640 votes; Osun where he polled 343,945 votes as against 354,366 ofAtiku Abubakar of the PDP; Akwa Ibom, where he polled 160,620 votes as against 214,012 votes polled by Atiku; Edo, where he polled 144, 471 votes while Obi polled 331,163 votes; Abia where he polled 8,914 votes as against Obi’s 327,095 votes and Cross River where he polled 130,520 votes as against 179,917 votes polled by Obi.
Others were: Delta where he polled 90,193 votes as against Obi’s 341,866 votes; Bayelsa, where he polled 42,572 votes as against Atiku’s 68,818; Ebonyi where he polled 42,402 votes as against Obi’s 259,738 votes; Anambra where he polled 5,111 votes as against Obi’s 584,621 votes and Imo where he garnered 66,406 votes as against Obi’s 360, 495 votes.

Overall, Tinubu lost in 12 out of the 17 states in the South in the 2023 elections, winning only in Ondo, Ogun, Oyo, Ekiti and Rivers states. Whether the current drive by his strategists will turn the table in his favour in the zone 2027 remains to be seen.

Nevertheless, President Tinubu is not leaving anything to chance.

Speaking last Thursday at the APC National Policy and Development Summit held at the State House Banquet Hall, Abuja, where the National Working Committee of the APC, the 22 governors elected on the platform of the APC and the National Assembly leadership pledged to support his second-term ambition, the President disclosed that he expects more members of opposition parties to join the ruling APC before the 2027 elections.
He dispelled accusations of engineering a one-party state, arguing that Nigeria’s constitution guarantees freedom of association and defectors are not to blame for seeking political solace.

The President said: “You don’t blame a people bailing out a sinking ship. I am expecting more to come; that is the game. We are in a constitutional democracy that guarantees the freedom of movement and the freedom of association. Welcome to the progressives.”

On his endorsement by the party, he said: “The endorsement today, the carry go expression, I know the road. We will lead you on to that promised land. The resuscitation of the Nigerian economy is on course; the hope is standing before you, take it on.

“You are the leaders and the conscience of this country. Nigeria will be industrialised. The next two years will be great. We have a mission, and we have a vision.

“To many of you I have not offered political positions, be patient, many things are coming.”