With the 2027 general elections looming, the North-Central All Progressives Congress (APC) Forum has issued a blunt warning to first-term governors in the zone: improve your performance or face an uncertain future at the polls. The group, which brings together party stakeholders from the region, made the call on Sunday following its second quarter consultative meeting in Abuja.
In a statement released by its chairman, Alhaji Saleh Zazzaga, the forum argued that the governors’ ability to secure second terms hinges on tangible results. “We urge the first term governors in the North-Central to sit up in the discharge of their duties as the elections draw closer,” Zazzaga said. “Our target is that the party will continue to retain control of all states in the zone.”
The governors in question are Ahmed Ododo of Kogi, Hyacinth Alia of Benue, Mohammad Bago of Niger, and Caleb Muftwang of Plateau. Meanwhile, AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq of Kwara and Abdullahi Sule of Nasarawa are finishing their second and final terms, making the performance of their first-term colleagues even more critical to the party’s hold on the region.
The forum did not mince words about the stakes. It reminded the governors that the North-Central was the first geopolitical zone in the country to fall entirely under a single party’s control, a feat the APC has long boasted about. Keeping it that way, the group stressed, requires more than political allegiance. “We particularly urge them to pay special attention to security, the economy, agriculture, education, youth and women empowerment, and the general welfare of citizens,” the statement read.
Interestingly, the forum singled out two governors for praise: Bago of Niger and Muftwang of Plateau. Their administrations, the group noted, have delivered measurable progress. In Niger State, the forum highlighted the 1,000km statewide road network, a 500-hectare solar farm and industrial park in Diko/Sabon Wuse, the Minna urban renewal project, and a 500-unit housing estate in Kontagora. Plateau State, meanwhile, was credited with the 19.7km Mangu Bypass, the Plateau Potato Value Chain Project, and the remodeling of key hospitality and sports venues like the Hill Station Hotel and Rwang Pam Township Stadium.
The forum also pointed to improvements in security and economic empowerment in both states, arguing that such achievements are exactly what will carry the party to victory in 2027. “We believe that the governors of Plateau and Niger states have recorded commendable achievements in various sectors,” the group said, while still urging all first-term governors to push harder.
Beyond state-level contests, the forum reaffirmed its commitment to delivering six million votes from the North-Central to President Bola Tinubu in the 2027 presidential election. That pledge, first made in December 2024 when the forum became the first political body to endorse Tinubu for a second term, remains a central goal. “It is our fervent desire that the North-Central retains its pride of place as the number one APC zone in the country,” the statement concluded.
The message is clear: the APC’s dominance in the North-Central is not guaranteed. It must be earned, one project, one policy, and one community at a time.
