Stop following Tinubu to rallies, Uzor Kalu tells APC leaders

Abia North Senator Uzor Orji Kalu

Abia North Senator Orji Uzor Kalu has advised All Progressives Congress (APC) leaders to prioritise grassroots mobilisation ahead of the 2027 general elections instead of accompanying President Bola Tinubu to campaign rallies across the country.

Mr Kalu, a former governor of Abia State, said party leaders should remain in their respective political constituencies to engage voters, strengthen party structures and build support at the ward and local government levels.

The senator, who coordinates parliamentary mobilisation for the South-east, made the recommendation in a statement titled, “The APC Presidential Campaign Council and the Need for a Leaner Campaign Train,” Vanguard newspaper reported on Monday.

He argued that the president should be accompanied by a smaller campaign entourage, while other influential party members concentrate on mobilising support in their political strongholds.

Mr Kalu’s position comes days after the APC Presidential Campaign Council directed ministers, political appointees and members of its campaign council to attend only rallies organised in their respective home states.

PREMIUM TIMES reported that the council issued the directive in a circular dated 3 November and signed by its Director-General, Abdulaziz Yari.

The directive was addressed to directors and heads of directorates within the campaign council and was intended to improve coordination and strengthen grassroots mobilisation ahead of the elections.

The council also adopted a pyramid-style mobilisation strategy that emphasises building political support from polling units through wards and local government areas to the state level.

Under the arrangement, party officials are expected to mobilise voters within their respective jurisdictions rather than concentrate their activities around the president during campaign events.

Citing his political activities in Abia, Mr Kalu said effective mobilisation must begin at the ward level, where party leaders have direct access to voters.

He recalled leading more than 4,000 APC members from Igbere Wards A and B in Bende Local Government Area during the party’s presidential primary in May.

According to him, the experience showed the importance of building political structures and consolidating grassroots support.

Mr Kalu maintained that the party’s chances in the 2027 elections would depend largely on its ability to sustain direct engagement with voters across communities.

He stressed that a campaign’s effectiveness should not be measured by the number of political leaders accompanying the president to rallies, but by the strength of the party’s structures and its connection with voters at the grassroots.

Mr Kalu’s comments reinforce the campaign council’s recent directive restricting political appointees and campaign officials to rallies in their home states as the APC begins preparations for the 2027 general elections.