2027: APC Deploys Diaspora Network to Fight Anti-Tinubu Narratives, Mobilise Re-election Support

By: Michael Mike

The All Progressives Congress (APC) has unveiled an international mobilisation and media offensive to defend President Bola Tinubu’s economic policies, counter negative narratives about his administration and rally support for his re-election in 2027, targeting Nigerians living across major countries in Africa, Europe, Asia, the Middle East and North America.

Under the plan, the party intends to activate its overseas chapters, deploy coordinated digital advocacy, establish a rapid-response mechanism to challenge misinformation, mobilise diaspora funding and encourage voter participation at home as it seeks to shape public perception of Tinubu’s first term ahead of the presidential election.

The Director of the PBAT/APC 2027 Presidential Campaign Council (PCC) Directorate of Diaspora Mobilisation, Hon. Abike Dabiri-Erewa, unveiled the strategy at a press briefing in Abuja, describing Nigerians abroad as an influential constituency whose financial contributions, professional expertise and international networks could be harnessed to support the administration.

The initiative signals the APC’s determination to make the diaspora an organised component of its re-election campaign, using Nigerians’ connections with relatives, communities and professional networks abroad to communicate the government’s position on its economic reforms and development agenda.

Dabiri-Erewa said the directorate would not limit its mobilisation to party members, but would also reach out to Nigerians abroad who were willing to participate in the campaign.

“Nigerians abroad are not outsiders. They are stakeholders. They are our doctors, nurses, engineers, students, traders, innovators and community leaders, who send over $20 billion annually back home in remittances,” she said.

She identified the mobilisation of APC diaspora chapters in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, South Africa, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, France, Germany, Australia, Turkey, India and Kazakhstan as a priority, alongside engagement with diaspora associations and community leaders.

At the centre of the strategy is a digital advocacy campaign tagged Operation Tell Your Story, through which supporters would receive short videos, infographics and other communication materials promoting the administration’s policies and achievements.

The campaign would address the foreign exchange reforms, foreign reserves, support for small businesses, housing programmes and opportunities for students, while seeking to counter claims the directorate considers misleading.

Dabiri-Erewa also announced plans for a rapid-response hub to provide data, fact-check claims and promote what she described as credible information about Nigeria’s investment climate, economic stabilisation and prospects under Tinubu.

“Our directorate will serve as a rapid-response hub in case of misinformation about Nigeria and the administration. We will provide credible data, fact-check and positive narratives about Nigeria’s investment climate, stabilisation of the economy and the future under President Tinubu,” she said.

The move comes amid continuing public debate over the administration’s economic reforms, particularly the removal of the petrol subsidy and changes to the foreign exchange system, which have had significant implications for households and businesses.

Dabiri-Erewa acknowledged the hardship associated with the subsidy removal but defended the policy as a necessary intervention to address structural weaknesses in the economy.

“President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has decided not to manage our feelings, but to fix the system. And it takes a bold leader to do that,” she said.

She argued that Nigerians living abroad could help explain the rationale behind the reforms to their families and communities, particularly because of their understanding of the challenges associated with the previous foreign exchange arrangements.

However, the directorate’s strategy will face the challenge of persuading voters at home that the administration’s policies are delivering sufficient benefits to justify the economic sacrifices they have experienced. The effectiveness of the campaign will therefore depend not only on the reach of its messaging but also on the credibility of its claims and the administration’s record against measurable economic outcomes.

Beyond digital advocacy, the APC plans to mobilise diaspora contributions through structured fundraising platforms to finance campaign activities, voter education materials, town hall meetings and grassroots mobilisation.

Dabiri-Erewa said the proposed fundraising arrangements would emphasise transparency and accountability, but did not disclose the amount the directorate hopes to raise or provide details of the proposed platforms.

The fourth strand of the strategy would focus on voter education and homecoming mobilisation, with diaspora Nigerians encouraged to remind eligible relatives and community members to register, collect their Permanent Voter Cards and participate in the election.

The directorate also intends to use its overseas networks to encourage Nigerians abroad to return home, engage their communities and take part in the political process.

In a related appeal, Dabiri-Erewa called on the National Assembly to consider constitutional amendments that would allow Nigerians living abroad to vote in Nigerian elections.

She acknowledged that diaspora voting remained a subject of debate but expressed hope that lawmakers would address the issue, potentially expanding the formal participation of Nigerians abroad in the country’s electoral process.

Dabiri-Erewa, who also heads the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM), said the commission had established a portal for registering Nigerians living outside the country and put the estimated diaspora population at more than 17 million.

She also urged Nigerians to monitor how state and local governments utilise increased allocations following the removal of the petrol subsidy, arguing that greater public revenue should be accompanied by accountability in spending.

Other members of the directorate backed the administration’s economic policies, acknowledging the hardship associated with the reforms while arguing that the intended benefits would take time to materialise. They highlighted investment, skills transfer, business partnerships and collaboration with government institutions as additional ways diaspora Nigerians could contribute to national development.

Dabiri-Erewa urged the media to support the directorate’s communication efforts, saying the campaign would focus on continuity, national development and Tinubu’s stated ambition to move Nigeria from reforms to prosperity.

With the 2027 election approaching, the APC’s strategy places diaspora mobilisation, digital communication and the battle over the interpretation of the administration’s economic record at the heart of its re-election effort. Whether the initiative translates into broader electoral support will ultimately depend on how Nigerians judge the government’s performance and whether the campaign can substantiate its claims with credible

2027: APC Deploys Diaspora Network to Fight Anti-Tinubu Narratives, Mobilise Re-election Support

2027: Nwankwo Warns INEC Against Unclear AI Use, Urges Credible Elections

PLAC director says electoral body must win public trust, calls on parties to focus on issues as JFCN warns Nigerians against taking democracy for granted

By: Michael Mike

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) must not introduce artificial intelligence into Nigeria’s electoral process without clear, transparent and verifiable procedures, the Executive Director of the Policy and Legal Advocacy Centre (PLAC), Dr Clement Nwankwo, has warned.

Nwankwo said any deployment of technology in elections must strengthen transparency and protect the will of voters, cautioning that an unfamiliar or poorly explained system could undermine public confidence in the electoral process ahead of the 2027 general elections.

He also urged Nigerians dissatisfied with governance or the conduct of elections to participate actively in the democratic process rather than withdraw from voting, insisting that credible elections required responsibility from the electoral umpire, political parties and citizens.

Nwankwo spoke in Abuja on Tuesday at the eighth annual public lecture of the Just Friends Club of Nigeria (JFCN), themed “From Concern to Action: Making Our Votes Count in the 2027 General Elections.”

The event examined the challenges confronting Nigeria’s democracy, including economic hardship, insecurity, declining civic participation and the need to strengthen public confidence in elections.

Addressing questions on the proposed use of artificial intelligence in elections, Nwankwo said the legal framework and operational details must be clear to voters and other stakeholders before any new technology was introduced.

He maintained that the electoral process must remain anchored in procedures prescribed by law, warning against technological innovations that citizens and political parties could neither understand nor independently verify.

“INEC needs to be careful that its so-called use of AI in elections does not result in use of technology to circumvent the vote of the people,” he said.

Nwankwo argued that the electoral commission needed to explain precisely what it meant by using artificial intelligence and how the technology would interact with existing procedures for voting, counting and collating results.

He said technology could be useful to political parties in independently checking results announced by INEC, but warned that the commission should not introduce systems that lacked public understanding and verifiability.

“For the collation of results, for the parties, yes, the use of AI in collated results, so they can cross-check what INEC is doing, is going to be so very important,” he said.

“But INEC should not introduce a system that people do not understand. People cannot verify for use in elections in this country,” he added.

His comments come amid wider concerns about how electoral technology is deployed, explained and scrutinised, with stakeholders seeking assurances that innovations will improve the credibility of elections rather than create additional uncertainty.

Nwankwo stressed that public trust must be earned at every stage of the electoral process, particularly by the body responsible for managing elections.

“Citizens have to trust the electoral process, trust the election management body, and the election management body has to, at every stage, convince Nigerians that it is doing the right job,” he said.

He urged political parties to demonstrate what they could offer Nigerians through issue-based campaigns rather than allowing electoral contests to be dominated by recriminations and accusations.

He also called for increased voter participation, arguing that citizens who were angry with the electoral process or dissatisfied with governance should use their votes to express their concerns.

For INEC, he said, the responsibility was to demonstrate that it was conducting credible elections, warning that Nigerians would not accept a poorly managed process.

The chairman of the event, Hussaini Abdu, Country Director of CARE Nigeria, also underscored the importance of protecting democracy and ensuring that citizens understood their responsibility in sustaining democratic governance.

Abdu said the annual lecture series was established to address topical issues affecting Nigerians and contribute to national development. He noted that the club’s decision to focus this year’s edition on the 2027 elections reflected the importance of citizen participation at a critical moment for the country.

He cautioned that Nigerians, particularly younger people who did not experience military rule, risked taking democracy for granted without appreciating the struggles that secured the country’s return to civil rule.

Democracy, he argued, was a precious legacy that must be preserved and passed on to future generations. Losing it could expose younger Nigerians to the same struggles endured by those who fought for democratic governance.

Abdu said the club had therefore brought experts and political stakeholders together to discuss practical ways of improving the democratic process.

He also stressed that institutions involved in elections, including INEC and security agencies, must not only be transparent but must be seen by the public to be transparent and independent.

According to him, citizens’ confidence in the electoral process depends significantly on whether the institutions responsible for managing and protecting elections are perceived as impartial and accountable.

The President of JFCN, Amaechi C. Aloke, said the lecture’s theme was deliberately selected to challenge Nigerians to turn their concerns about governance into meaningful participation.

Aloke observed that Nigerians regularly complain about insecurity, unemployment, corruption, infrastructure deficits, the cost of living and the quality of public services, but insisted that expressing dissatisfaction alone would not transform the country.

“What do we do with that concern? Concern, by itself, does not change a country. It must become knowledge. Knowledge must become participation. Participation must become responsible citizenship. And responsible citizenship must extend beyond Election Day,” he said.

The discussion also highlighted concerns about the apparent weakening of the middle class and its declining willingness to organise around shared interests.

Speakers argued that many relatively affluent Nigerians increasingly rely on private alternatives to compensate for failing public services, including generators and solar systems for electricity, private schools and hospitals, and medical treatment abroad.

Although such measures may provide individual relief, the speakers warned that they could also reduce collective pressure on government to improve public services.

They cited an example from an affluent Abuja neighbourhood where residents reportedly complained through a WhatsApp group about levies imposed by local authorities but failed to translate their grievances into coordinated action.

The discussion questioned whether such private coping mechanisms and fragmented responses to shared problems were weakening the ability of citizens to demand accountability from public institutions.

The speakers also raised concerns about voter apathy, particularly among eligible voters in affluent communities who reportedly stayed away from polling units instead of participating in elections.

They urged Nigerians to move beyond private complaints and social media exchanges by voting, monitoring electoral processes, protecting their ballots and documenting results at polling units.

The JFCN, established in 2013, began its annual public lecture series in 2014. Its previous speakers have addressed subjects ranging from economic reform and public debt to national security, electoral politics and the cost of governance.

At the seventh edition in 2025, retired Lieutenant-General Abdulrahman Dambazau delivered a lecture on Nigeria’s security challenges and national cohesion, emphasising a people-centred approach to security and investment in human development.

Beyond the lecture series, Aloke said the club also undertook philanthropic activities, including visits to homes for older people and orphanages, support for children with disabilities, career guidance in public schools and sponsorship for eight indigent secondary school students in Abuja.

As the 2027 elections approach, the speakers’ message was that protecting democracy requires more than periodic voting. It demands trusted electoral institutions, transparent procedures, issue-based political campaigns and citizens prepared to participate actively and hold those in power accountable.

For Nwankwo, the credibility of the next election will depend in part on whether INEC can demonstrate that its procedures are lawful, transparent and capable of being independently understood and verified by the people whose votes determine the outcome.

2027: Nwankwo Warns INEC Against Unclear AI Use, Urges Credible Elections

Borrowed Data, Phantom Mandates: Why Shettima Dismantled Obi’s Governance Fantasy

By Abubakar M. Kareto

Statecraft is fundamentally distinct from seminar presentation. The former demands the rigorous management of structural contradictions, institutional inertia, and demographic realities, while the latter thrives on rhetorical neatness, curated anecdotes, and borrowed spreadsheets.

Vice-President Kashim Shettima’s recent assessment of Peter Obi as a purveyor of ungrounded economic prescriptions and unsubstantiated electoral claims strikes at the very heart of contemporary Nigerian political discourse. For too long, populist commentary has mistaken snappy cross-country comparisons for actionable governance frameworks. Shettima’s size 36 versus size 52 analogy is not merely sharp political fencing; it is a vital diagnostic of the intellectual superficiality that often masquerades as alternative leadership in Nigeria.

The fundamental flaw in Obi’s public commentary over recent years has been an unyielding devotion to false equivalence and context-blind arithmetic. In town halls, media appearances, and international forums, Obi has routinely contrasted Nigeria’s sprawling, federation-wide challenges with fragmented datasets lifted from nations operating under completely dissimilar conditions.

A prominent instance is his frequent assertion that Niger State’s landmass dwarfs the Netherlands, juxtaposed with the claim that Dutch agricultural exports exceed $100 billion. What this rhetorical sleight of hand deliberately ignores is basic trade mechanics: Dutch agricultural export supremacy is driven primarily by sophisticated agro-industrial processing, global logistics networks, and massive re-exports within the European single market, not raw agrarian subsistence.

This penchant for statistical elasticity is neither accidental nor isolated; it has become a trademark of Obi’s public discourse. While speaking on national television in 2022, he boldly declared that out of roughly 150 players in the American National Basketball Association, almost 100 were Nigerians, an assertion so detached from reality that official league rosters showed only a handful of players of Nigerian origin. During national debates, he famously claimed that Nigeria had only 2 million vehicles, equating to 10 per 1,000 citizens, a metric that crashed immediately against verified Federal Road Safety Corps and National Bureau of Statistics audits demonstrating that Nigeria’s vehicular fleet exceeded 11 million.

Even in his geopolitical commentary, he dramatically misstated that 40% of the gross domestic products of countries like China, Indonesia, and Malaysia derived from manufacturing, inflating official World Bank records by nearly double to force an ideological point. When numbers are treated as disposable props to dazzle audiences rather than empirical baselines for policy, statecraft descends into street theatre.

Bangladesh’s readymade garment boom, another perennial Obi talking point, operates under single-tier governance, concentrated coastal logistics, and European preferential tariffs that cannot be transplanted into a federal union of over 250 million people fractured by vast sub-national distances, distinct regional political economies, and an entrenched rentier legacy.

A policy accelerating light manufacturing along the Bay of Bengal cannot simply be copy-pasted into Aba or Kano without resolving interstate transit friction, power grid stability, and deep-seated fiscal federalism deficits. To suggest otherwise is to confuse the ambition of governance with the art of sloganeering.

Beyond the realm of policy formulation lies the equally vital issue of institutional respect and constitutional integrity. Shettima’s sharp rebuttal of Obi’s persistent claim to have won the 2023 presidential election touches on a dangerous trend of democratic delegitimisation. In 2023, the Labour Party mounted an extensive legal challenge that traveled through the Presidential Election Petition Court all the way to the Supreme Court of Nigeria. At every stage, the burden of proof required by law remained glaringly unmet.

Constitutional compliance, allegations of suppression, and altered returns across over 176,000 polling units require empirical forensics, unit-by-unit tallies, and primary documentary evidence.

Instead of delivering this evidentiary threshold, the petition relied on disputed viewing portal uploads and speculative deductions. When the apex court unanimously dismissed the challenge, it affirmed that judicial outcomes rest on verifiable data rather than digital sentiment.

Continuing to declare victory outside the courtroom without producing alternate, independently certified tallies across 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory crosses the boundary between legitimate opposition and populist revisionism.

Nigeria’s present journey requires unsparing pragmatism rather than escapist romanticism. The structural reforms underway, painful though their transitional costs may be, tackle the core fiscal distortions that crippled the nation for decades, notably the ruinous fuel subsidy regime and foreign exchange arbitrage that previously enriched a narrow cabal at the expense of national solvency.

Confronting these generational imbalances demands leaders who grasp the sheer weight of the Nigerian state machinery. Vice-President Shettima has rightly pointed out that Nigeria cannot be governed by borrowed cliches or nostalgic revisionism. Progress belongs to those who see the country as it truly is, confront its hard realities with structural resolve, and respect the democratic outcomes that anchor the republic.

Abubakar M. Kareto is a Public Affairs Analyst and Communications Strategist focusing on governance, policies, economy, and institutional reforms across Nigeria and Africa. He can be reached on X @amkareto and via email at amkareto@gmail.com.

Borrowed Data, Phantom Mandates: Why Shettima Dismantled Obi’s Governance Fantasy