2027: Oluremi Tinubu to lead 20,000-woman APC summit in Abuja
The Director, Women Mobilisation Directorate of the APC Presidential Campaign Council, Dr Betta Edu. Photo: APC
Nigeria’s First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, is expected to lead a major mobilisation of women stakeholders in Abuja on Monday as the All Progressives Congress begins to intensify its grassroots campaign ahead of the 2027 presidential election. The Women Stakeholders’ Mobilisation and Empowerment Pre-Inaugural Campaign Roll-Out, organised by the Women Mobilisation Directorate of the APC Presidential Campaign Council, is expected to attract more than 20,000 women from across the country. The event, according to a statement on Sunday, is scheduled for 8 am at the Bola Ahmed Tinubu International Conference Centre, Abuja, and is themed “Renewed Hope Agenda 2.0: From Reforms to Prosperity,” with the mobilisation message, “One Voice, One Movement, One Choice, One Mandate 2027.” The campaign’s women mobilisation directorate has separately said it is targeting 40 million votes from women for President Bola Tinubu and Vice-President Kashim Shettima in the 2027 election. The directorate’s Director, Dr Betta Edu, disclosed this ahead of Monday’s summit, saying the structure was also expanding grassroots mobilisation across the country. The gathering is expected to bring together women leaders, professionals, entrepreneurs, political stakeholders, community representatives and grassroots organisers to discuss political participation, mobilisation and government programmes being presented by the APC as part of the Tinubu administration’s record. Speaking ahead of the event, a member of the APC Presidential Campaign Council Women Mobilisation Planning Committee, Princess Gloria Akobundu, said programmes introduced by the Federal Government had affected education, infrastructure, social protection, consumer credit and youth empowerment. Akobundu specifically cited the Nigerian Education Loan Fund, CREDICORP, infrastructure projects, cash-transfer programmes, digital-skills initiatives and other interventions, arguing that the administration’s policies should be consolidated through a second term. She said, “NELFUND has provided an opportunity for Nigerian students who ordinarily may not have been able to afford tertiary education to access interest-free loans.”See more Punch stories on Google.Add Punch on Google Current NELFUND figures show that the scheme had processed 1,659,853 applications as of September 2026, while total disbursements reached N372.62bn as of October 3. Of the amount, N192.89bn had been paid to beneficiary institutions as institutional fees, while N179.73bn had gone to students as upkeep allowances. The student-loan programme, established under the Student Loans Act, is designed to provide interest-free financial support to eligible students and reduce financial barriers to tertiary education. NELFUND’s latest dashboard also lists 1,410,825 registered students and 1,697,185 loan applications. On consumer credit, Akobundu cited CREDICORP, a Federal Government development finance institution established to widen access to consumer financing. New Army formations will strengthen response to insecurity — Tinubu INEC to brief Nigerians as 2027 polls enter 100-day countdown Ex-Bauchi APC chieftain found dead with slit throat CREDICORP says its mandate is to remove structural, market and policy barriers to consumer credit and reach 50 per cent of working Nigerians by 2030. Its credit offerings cover areas including personal needs, education, home improvement and renewable energy. Akobundu also listed the administration’s infrastructure programme, citing the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway, Sokoto-Badagry Super Highway and Abuja-Kaduna-Zaria-Kano Road. Tinubu said in May that more than 2,700 kilometres of highways and major roads were under construction, reconstruction or rehabilitation, including the three projects cited by Akobundu. On social protection, Akobundu said the administration had expanded cash-transfer interventions and introduced programmes including NG-CARES, SOLID and HOPE to support vulnerable households, communities and human-capital development. The figures contained in the Federal Government’s latest programme documentation, however, differ from the 75 million-household claim in the statement. At the July 2026 launch of the new programmes, the Presidency said expanded cash transfers had reached 15 million vulnerable households, while the newly launched NG-CARES Additional Financing, SOLID and HOPE programmes were designed to extend livelihood, humanitarian, healthcare, education and governance support. The Federal Government subsequently announced plans for a $1bn Renewed Hope Social Protection Programme as part of efforts to strengthen the country’s social-protection architecture and expand support for vulnerable households. The mobilisation comes as political parties and support groups increasingly organise around the 2027 presidential contest, with the APC women’s directorate saying its grassroots structure covers communities nationwide. For the organisers, Monday’s meeting is expected to serve both as an empowerment platform and as an early campaign mobilisation exercise for the Tinubu-Shettima ticket. Akobundu urged women in Imo State and across the South-East to strengthen their mobilisation structures and take the Renewed Hope message to communities and localities across the region. She said, “We are calling on our women across the South-East to strengthen their mobilisation and ensure that the message of the Renewed Hope Agenda reaches every community and locality.” The event is expected to further set the tone for the APC’s women-focused mobilisation ahead of the 2027 general elections. Deborah Tolu-Kolawole Deborah Tolu-Kolawole is a journalist at Punch Newspapers with four years of experience covering Nigeria’s vast education sector as well as related areas such as politics, health, security, and labour. She blends rigorous reporting with digital storytelling to bring clarity and insight to complex issues affecting learners, educators, and policymakers. Deborah was a nominee for The Future Awards Africa (TFAA) Prize in Journalism, recognising her impactful reporting and contributions to Nigerian media. Her work reflects strong newsroom experience, editorial judgment, and a commitment to accurate, audience-focused journalism. In addition to her reporting, she is fluent in multiple languages and serves as a contributing member of The Punch editorial board.
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