South-East voters may not automatically support the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the 2027 presidential election despite the growing influence of the ruling party in the region, party chieftain Josef Onoh has said.
Onoh, a former South-East spokesman for the Tinubu/Shettima Presidential Campaign Council in the 2023 election, said the political calculations in the region would be different in 2027.
He warned that the control of state governments by the APC may not translate into votes for President Bola Tinubu at the presidential level.
The APC currently controls three of the five states in the South-East.
Imo State has been governed by Hope Uzodimma, Ebonyi by Francis Nwifuru, while Enugu Governor Peter Mbah joined the ruling party after leaving the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
Abia remains under the Labour Party, led by Governor Alex Otti, while Anambra is controlled by the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), with Governor Chukwuma Soludo in office.
Despite the expansion of the APC’s political structure, Onoh believes the party still has a major challenge to overcome among voters in the region.
Speaking on Sunday, he attributed the situation to what he described as the “highest political marginalisation” suffered by the South-East under the Tinubu administration.
According to him, the fact that political leaders have moved into the APC does not necessarily mean that the wider electorate will follow them to the party.
The defection of Mbah to the APC in October 2025 had significantly altered the political structure of the region.
His move gave the ruling party control of three South-East states and strengthened its argument that the zone was gradually moving closer to the federal government.
The South-East has traditionally been a difficult political territory for the APC at presidential elections.
In the 2023 presidential election, Labour Party candidate Peter Obi secured overwhelming support across much of the region.
Onoh’s warning therefore comes against the background of a wider battle for the votes of South-East residents.
The APC seeking to convince voters that closer cooperation with the federal government would bring greater development to the region.
The party has repeatedly pointed to federal projects, appointments and increased political participation by South-East politicians under Tinubu.
But Onoh suggested that these political gains may not be enough to erase concerns among voters.
He maintained that the electorate could approach the 2027 election differently from previous polls and would not necessarily vote according to the political allegiance of governors.
Meanwhile, Ladipo Johnson, a chieftain of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) and the party’s Lagos Central senatorial candidate, also warned that politicians should not assume that the 2027 electorate would behave in the same manner as voters in previous elections.
Johnson pointed to the August 15 Osun governorship election as an indication of what could happen in future elections.
He said the election showed that voters were becoming more determined to protect their votes and resist efforts to influence their decisions through money or intimidation.
According to him, politicians who intend to rely heavily on inducement or coercion could face difficulties in 2027.
In a related news, a major development occurred on October 14, 2025, when Enugu State Governor Peter Mbah formally left the PDP for the APC.
Mbah announced the decision during a statewide broadcast and later joined the ruling party with several political leaders and members of the state’s political structure.
The governor said his decision was based on the need to connect Enugu more closely with the federal government and secure greater opportunities for the state.
He described the move as a difficult political decision taken in the interest of the state.
“This is not a betrayal. It’s about carrying the people’s mandate on a platform that best serves them,” Mbah said.
Former PDP National Youth Leader Sunday Udeh-Okoye, who also joined the APC alongside Mbah and other political leaders in Enugu, went further by predicting that the ruling party would gain control of another South-East state.
“Just wait and see; very soon, another state will fall in the South-East to the APC,” Okoye said on October 14, 2025.
He declined to identify the state he had in mind.
The APC has since continued its efforts to expand its structure in the region.
In January 2026, APC governors and stakeholders in the South-East formally endorsed President Tinubu for a second term.
The meeting brought together Governor Hope Uzodimma of Imo, Governor Peter Mbah of Enugu and Governor Francis Nwifuru of Ebonyi, alongside other party leaders.
Mbah described the decision as a “paradigm shift grounded in pragmatism” and linked the political alignment to federal projects and cooperation between the states and the centre.
Nwifuru also expressed confidence that the remaining South-East governors would eventually join the APC before the 2027 election.
COURTESY: PoliticsNigeria
