2027: APC reveals Tinubu’s weapon for over 10m votes

By Tolulope Oke

The All Progressives Congress, APC, has revealed why it believes President Bola Tinubu will poll more than 10 million votes in the 2027 presidential election.

APC National Chairman, Professor Nentawe Yilwatda, said the ruling party’s confidence is not only based on its membership strength, but also on the number of Nigerians benefiting from Federal Government intervention programmes.

Yilwatda spoke on Monday during an interview while reacting to Tinubu’s emergence as the APC presidential candidate for the 2027 election.

Tinubu had secured the party’s ticket after polling 10.9 million votes in the APC presidential primary.

Asked whether the ruling party could replicate such a figure in the general election, Yilwatda said Tinubu could even surpass it.

“More than that, these are our members,” he said.

The APC chairman said the party’s support base had expanded beyond registered members, adding that millions of Nigerians who had benefited from government programmes could become part of Tinubu’s electoral strength in 2027.

According to him, beneficiaries of the student loan scheme, together with their parents, siblings and other family members, represent a major support bloc for the APC.

“In my own thinking, most students are members of our party.

“We have about 1.5 million students who are beneficiaries of the student loan scheme. Their school fees are paid completely, and many of them have parents, brothers, and family members,” Yilwatda said.

He said the APC would go into the 2027 election with a stronger structure, wider membership base and visible government programmes that directly affect Nigerians.

In the 2023 presidential election, Tinubu polled over eight million votes, while Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, and Peter Obi of the Labour Party, LP, each secured more than six million votes.

But Yilwatda said the APC is now better positioned to perform beyond its 2023 figures.

He insisted that Tinubu’s government had created programmes that would be remembered by beneficiaries when Nigerians return to the polls.

The APC chairman also linked the party’s expected performance to its internal structure and growing national reach.

According to him, the party’s figures during the presidential primary showed the strength of APC’s mobilisation ahead of the 2027 general election.

Yilwatda said the ruling party would continue to consolidate on its grassroots network, membership register and government achievements to secure victory for Tinubu.