Niger State Governor, Umaru Bago, has set a target of more than two million votes for President Bola Tinubu in the 2027 general election, as the All Progressives Congress intensifies preparations for the polls. Bago announced the target while inaugurating a 525-member state campaign council, saying the party would rely on sustained mobilisation to achieve its ambition.
The governor said the campaign would focus on reaching voters from polling units to the state level. He pointed to the APC’s existing political structures and membership, which he said had grown to more than 100,000, as a foundation for the planned drive.
Bago also defended the performance of the Tinubu administration, citing infrastructure and other areas of governance as reasons the party believes it can secure public support. He referred to improvements in roads and security in parts of Niger State, arguing that better movement of goods had become possible in some areas.
The governor urged party members to maintain unity and welcome people returning to the APC after previously leaving the party. He described the APC as a political platform shaped by the legacy of earlier opposition parties and called for cooperation across its structures to strengthen its electoral prospects.
Minister of Information Mohammed Idris Malagi, who attended the inauguration, backed the selection of the campaign council’s leadership. He said the party intended to campaign on the Federal Government’s record, particularly its efforts to transform the Nigerian economy over the past three and a half years, and urged council members to put collective interests first.
APC North-Central Chairman Muazu Bawa Rijau said the party would not take its opponents for granted in the coming elections. He outlined the party’s broader ambition to return Bago as governor and secure victories for its candidates contesting Senate, House of Representatives and state assembly seats.
The council’s Director-General, Ahmed Ibeto, accepted the assignment on behalf of its members and pledged coordinated campaigning, grassroots engagement, discipline and compliance with electoral guidelines. While the APC has declared an ambitious vote target, the figure remains a campaign goal rather than a confirmed electoral outcome, with the party’s ability to achieve it to be determined by voters in 2027.
