The South-East caucus of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) has set a target of mobilising at least one million voters of South-East extraction in Abuja for the party’s presidential ticket of Peter Obi and Rabiu Kwankwaso in the 2027 general elections.
The group disclosed this on Saturday during a solidarity and courtesy visit by NDC supporters from the six area councils of the FCT to the party’s Deputy National Chairman, South-East, Chief Teddy Obey, at the party’s national secretariat.
Speaking during the visit, Chairman of the FCT South-East NDC, Dr Chidi Nwosu, said the delegation was at the secretariat to express solidarity with the party’s South-East leadership and appreciate the NDC for giving the region the opportunity to produce its presidential candidate.
Nwosu said the visit was particularly important because the group believed that political mobilisation should begin with the South-East community, especially at a time when the party had presented an aspirant from the region for the 2027 presidential election.
‘We come in solidarity to say thank you to the party for giving us a presidential candidate. Therefore, we are asked to pay the party back by making sure that we lead the rest of the people to victory,’ he said.
He disclosed that the FCT South-East caucus had begun plans to mobilise people of South-East extraction across Abuja, with a target of bringing at least one million people under the NDC platform.
‘Between now and November, we are going to sign a signature. We target signatures such as we are going to group, gather and bring together not less than one million Igbos in Abuja,’ Nwosu said.
According to him, the mobilisation drive would seek to unite South-East residents in the FCT under the NDC and build grassroots support for the party ahead of the 2027 elections.
On the issue of political inclusion, Nwosu said the emergence of Obi as the party’s presidential candidate represented an opportunity for the South-East to participate more directly in the national political process.
He argued that having complained for years about marginalisation, the region should now reciprocate the opportunity by working to deliver the party’s candidate.
‘We have been talking about being marginalised, that they don’t carry us along. They give you a candidate, and you go and sleep, and other people take it. We don’t have anything to cry again,’ he said.
Also speaking, the NDC Deputy National Chairman, South-East, Chief Teddy Obey, described the visit as another opportunity for the Igbo people to work towards producing a president.
Obey urged supporters to adopt grassroots mobilisation strategies, including door-to-door engagement, rather than relying solely on large rallies.
He said the party needed to change its approach to political mobilisation and reach voters directly in their communities.
‘We need to change our old system. Without money you cannot do this. It is a person that gives you money, you vote. And I reminded them about, if they think it’s well with them, what about their children coming up?’ Obey said.
He, however, advised voters to accept whatever they were offered by politicians but to ultimately vote according to their conscience.
He said the 2027 election should be approached with a focus on the future of the country and generations yet unborn.
The Chief Technical Adviser to the NDC National Leader, Vinmartin Ilo, said the visit demonstrated the importance the South-East attached to the opportunity created by the party’s presidential ticket.
Ilo said the NDC had provided what he described as an opportunity for the South-East to pursue its longstanding aspiration of producing a Nigerian president from the region.
He said the task ahead was not only to mobilise voters within the South-East but also to convince Nigerians from other parts of the country that the NDC’s proposed presidency would serve the entire country.
‘The Igbos know that for this task to be achieved, they have to lead in front. They have to reassure other Nigerians that the Igbo man as president was going to bring the change that Nigeria needs,’ Ilo said.
He said the party’s campaign strategy would focus on reaching Nigerians across the country and communicating its manifesto, programmes and policies to voters at the grassroots.
According to him, the party must also provide evidence and statistics to support its argument that Obi is the best candidate for the 2027 presidential election.
‘The number one strategy is to justify, convince Nigerians why we think that Peter Obi is the best candidate. It’s not enough to give them a candidate; it’s also to convince them with statistics, with evidence, with facts,’ he said.
Ilo added that the NDC would pursue a ‘top-to-bottom’ campaign aimed at reaching voters in both urban and remote communities.
He said the party would continue to explain what Nigerians should expect from an NDC administration if it wins the 2027 election.
The visit brought together NDC supporters of South-East extraction from the six area councils of the FCT, who used the occasion to reaffirm their support for the party and its presidential ticket ahead of the 2027 general elections.