2027: APGA Chairman Says South-East Must Back Tinubu to Secure Igbo Presidency

The National Chairman of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Sly Ezeokenwa, has said the South-East must align with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and other regions to strengthen its political influence and improve its chances of producing Nigeria’s president in the future.

Ezeokenwa argued that supporting Tinubu’s re-election bid in 2027 would serve the strategic interests of the South-East, insisting that the region could not secure the presidency without building alliances beyond its geographical boundaries.

The APGA chairman made the position known while defending the party’s decision to adopt Tinubu as its preferred presidential candidate for the 2027 general election.

According to him, the South-East must reconsider its political strategy and establish stronger relationships with the federal government and other geopolitical zones rather than remain isolated from national political calculations.

Ezeokenwa maintained that the region’s long-term ambition of producing a Nigerian president would require political negotiations, cooperation and strategic partnerships with other parts of the country.

He cited voter registration figures released by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), arguing that the South-East’s share of the national electorate was insufficient to independently deliver a presidential victory for a candidate from the region.

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“The South-East as a whole cannot, by its own, make someone the president without the broader coalition of other regions in the country,” he said.

The APGA chairman described his party’s position as an attempt to communicate what he considered the political realities facing the region, regardless of whether the argument was popular among its people.

He also maintained that the presidency should remain in the South for another four years through Tinubu, arguing that this would preserve the informal power-sharing arrangement between northern and southern Nigeria.

Ezeokenwa said the arrangement, which he traced to political understandings among the founders of the Peoples Democratic Party before the beginning of the Fourth Republic in 1999, had influenced presidential succession and power rotation in the country.

He argued that supporting Tinubu for another term would allow the South to complete its expected period in power before the presidency returns to the North.

The APGA chairman further claimed that the South-East had been marginalised in national political calculations since 2015, insisting that closer cooperation with the federal government could help the region regain political relevance.

He said the party believed that supporting Tinubu’s re-election would create an opportunity for the South-East to participate more effectively in national decision-making and negotiate for greater inclusion in the country’s political structure.

Ezeokenwa’s position is consistent with APGA’s earlier declaration that it would support Tinubu in 2027 rather than field its own presidential candidate.

The party has maintained that its decision is based on strategic political interests and ideological alignment, while insisting that its support for Tinubu does not mean it has merged with the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).

Anambra State Governor Chukwuma Soludo, who belongs to APGA, has also defended the strategy, arguing that supporting a southern president in 2027 could help build trust among political groups and strengthen the prospects of an eventual Igbo presidency.

Soludo’s inclusion in the APC presidential campaign council as the coordinator for Anambra State has further highlighted the growing political cooperation between APGA and the federal government ahead of the 2027 election.

The debate over the South-East’s political direction is expected to remain a significant issue as parties and political leaders begin positioning themselves for the next presidential contest.