*Women, southeast group mobilise support for president

The Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF), has criticized President Bola Tinubu and the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) for being more obsessed with early re-election campaigns and defections to their fold ahead of the 2027 elections as against national concerns.

The group, which said rather than address the security challenges and other existential challenges confronting the nation, the public policies of the administration has remained ineffective.

In a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Professor Muhammad-Baba, the ACF lamented that public policy responses to the insecurity situation, especially in the Northern part of the country, has remained ineffective, even as profligacy and reckless expenditures by public officials were in contrast to sacrifices by citizens.

“A most perverse illustration of reckless profligacy of public expenditure has been the revelation about insertions, in the 2025 federal budget, for the provision of streetlights at a staggering and unimaginable costs of over N260 million Naira each.

“That there has to date been no official denial of such crassly reckless and surreal insertions attests to the insensitivity of public officials and political representatives to the plight of ordinary Nigerians, whose living conditions continue to deteriorate all round.

“Going by precedent, such budgetary insertions are replicated in various ways at state level. As ACF observed a year ago, the existential challenges above are symptomatic of fundamental malaise in the political economy calling for urgent public policy attention.

“Delusional hubris and head-in-the-sand claims continue to characterise pronouncement by officials charged with responsibilities for security in contrast to cries of state governors on ground in locations. Such obsessions and claims only ignore or give blind eyes to possible mass disillusionment, despair, discontent, hopelessness and angst of the populace.

“That Nigerians continue to endure and could even celebrate occasions such as the Eid is a telling testament to their admirable resilience, which ought not to be taken for granted,” the group said.

The forum also felicitated with the Muslim communities in Nigeria on the occasion of Eid-el-Kabir celebration, describing it as solemn reminder of the need for humanity’s values of sacrifice, fellowship and devotion in appreciation of Almighty God’s Benevolence.

It noted that the Eid-el-Kabir celebration came amid struggles under economic-cum-existential challenges, ranging from dire costs of living expenses, inflation, rapid deterioration in the value of wages and salaries among others.

ACF, however, praised Nigerians over their resilience, asserting that national challenges as enumerated by the Forum, can be overcome by the entrenchment of the principles of good governance in public officials at local, state and federal levels.

Women, Southeast Group Plan Mass Grassroots Mobilisation for Tinubu in 2027

Meanwhile, a group, FOOG Women Support Group for Asiwaju has promised to mobilise support for the re-election of Tinubu in 2027.

Facilitator of the group, Chief (Mrs.) Esther Okotie-Eboh, the Iye of Warri Kingdom, made the promise, weekend, during the inauguration of the group in Warri, Delta State.

She said the women in Nigeria have scored  President Bola Tinubu ‘s renewed hope agenda, anchored on human, capital and infrastructure development, very high noting that the president deserves a second term to drive the robust vision to completion. 

Chief Okotie-Eboh said FOOG was formed to rally support for good leadership, good governance and sustainable development in the country, stressing that they already found the sterling qualities in the federal government driven by President Tinubu. 

Also, a group of young professionals from the South East, under the aegis of South East Progressive Ambassadors (SEPA), has called for support from Ndigbo, for the re-election of Tinubu.

The group, in a statement by its convener, Mr John Ikeotuonye, and the secretary, Dr Justin Ogoo Nwankwo, said it would be to the disadvantage of the zone not to support Tinubu in 2027.

It, however, expressed optimism that people of the zone were already buying into the renewed hope agenda of the president, and that the message has started sinking gradually.

The group expressed the hope that in 2027, the people would vote massively for the reelection of the President.