2027: Stop following Tinubu to rallies, return to grassroots, Kalu tells APC leaders

Senator Orji Uzor Kalu has urged leaders of the All Progressives Congress to stop following President Bola Tinubu from one campaign rally to another and concentrate on grassroots mobilisation in their respective states, local government areas, and wards ahead of the 2027 general elections.

The call was made in a statement titled “The APC Presidential Campaign Council and the Need for a Leaner Campaign Train,” ValidViewNetwork reports .

THE CALL

Kalu, who represents Abia North Senatorial District and serves as Coordinator of Parliamentary Mobilisation for the South-East, argued that Tinubu should be accompanied by a smaller campaign team, while other party leaders should remain in their political bases to engage voters and strengthen the party’s structures.

“The President needs a leaner campaign train,” Kalu said, urging leaders to focus on direct engagement with constituents rather than the size of the entourage accompanying the President .

THE CIRCULAR

Kalu’s position aligns with a circular issued by the APC Presidential Campaign Council on November 3, signed by Director-General Senator Abdulaziz Yari, which restricted ministers, political appointees, and campaign council members to rallies organised in their respective home states .

The council adopted what it described as a pyramid concept of mobilisation, prioritising engagement at polling unit, ward, local government, and state levels .

THE EXAMPLE

Kalu cited his political activities in Abia State as an example of the importance of grassroots mobilisation. He recalled leading more than 4,000 APC members in his Igbere Ward A, Bende Local Government Area, during the party’s presidential primary in May.

The returning officer announced that Tinubu scored 4,986 votes in the ward .”Effective grassroots engagement will be critical to the party’s electoral prospects in 2027,” Kalu said, stressing the need for leaders to maintain contact with voters and strengthen party structures at the ward level .

THE ANALYTICAL LENS

Kalu’s intervention is a recognition of a simple truth: you cannot win an election from the skies.

The President’s campaign will visit 12 states.

The other 24 states, and the thousands of wards and polling units across the country, will be won or lost by the party’s local structures. If those structures are weak, if the leaders are in Abuja following the President instead of in their constituencies mobilising voters, the campaign will fail.

The circular from the campaign council is an attempt to enforce discipline. But a circular is not a strategy. The real test is whether party leaders will actually stay in their wards and do the work, or whether they will find excuses to follow the President to rallies in Lagos, Kaduna, and Port Harcourt.

ADVERTISEMENT

Kalu has set an example with his Igbere Ward A. The question is whether other APC leaders will follow it. ValidViewNetwork reports.