Naija & Western gistNews · Celebs · Trends

Trend Naija

Thursday, 29 October 2026Lagos · LondonUpdated 17:46 GMT

Home › 2027 elections

2027 elections

Makinde takes campaign to Enugu despite warnings about Obi's stronghold, questions Tinubu's Saudi trip

Governor Seyi Makinde, right, in a blue cap and sunglasses, with Rotimi Babajide at a rally
Photo: LastBornOfTheGods / Wikimedia Commons, CC0

Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde, the presidential candidate of the Allied Peoples Movement (APM) for 2027, has taken his campaign to the South East, telling supporters in Enugu that his team was almost discouraged from coming to a region widely seen as Peter Obi's base. On the same day, he raised questions about President Bola Tinubu's trip to Saudi Arabia.

What he said in Enugu

Speaking at an APM town hall meeting in Enugu on Thursday, 29 October 2026, Makinde said people had warned his team against campaigning in the South East because the zone was regarded as belonging completely to Obi, the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) candidate. He said he decided to bring his message there anyway and urged Nigerians to reject politics that divides people along ethnic and tribal lines.

His question about Tinubu's trip

In a video shared the same day by an Oyo affairs account on X, Makinde said he had read on social media that the President was travelling to Saudi Arabia to pray for Nigeria. He remarked that prayers can be answered from within Nigeria too, and asked the Presidency to tell Nigerians the true situation. He did not say what he believed the situation to be.

How people reacted

Reactions online were divided. Some users backed his call for openness, while others accused him of politicising a religious trip, and one asked whether he was wishing the President ill because of the election. The Presidency has said the President is performing Umrah, and an aide has rejected claims that the trip is for medical treatment.

Background

Obi won most of the South East in the 2023 presidential election and remains very popular there. Makinde, who is serving his second and final term as Oyo governor, is one of several candidates now trying to build support across regions. Tinubu left Abuja for Makkah this week, and Atiku Abubakar and activist Omoyele Sowore have also questioned the trip.

More gist

2027 elections
Peter Obi
Photo: VOA / Wikimedia Commons, Public domain

Obi says election riggers will go to jail under him as Keyamo mocks his Nasarawa remarks

NDC presidential candidate Peter Obi told a town hall in Nasarawa State that INEC officials and others who rig elections will be jailed if he becomes president. Aviation Minister Festus Keyamo has hit back on X, ridiculing comments Obi made in a radio interview about keeping public funds in banks.

Read more

Peter Obi, the presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), has said anyone who rigs elections under his government will go to prison. He made the comments at a party town hall in Nasarawa State on Wednesday, 28 October 2026, during a campaign visit that has also drawn a sharp response from the ruling party.

What Obi said

Asked what his party would do about rigging in 2027, Obi said that under his presidency INEC officials or anyone else who manipulated elections would be jailed. He said strengthening political parties and the electoral process would make rigging impossible, and that the law would apply equally to everyone, from the President to the ordinary citizen. He also proposed that candidates for public office should prove they attended primary and secondary school, with records open to public checks, and said anyone found to have forged certificates would face prison.

Keyamo's reaction

In a radio interview during the same visit, Obi argued that Nigeria would be much richer if public money had been kept in banks earning interest instead of being mismanaged. He also said the results of government projects should speak for themselves without ceremonies or television coverage. Aviation Minister Festus Keyamo seized on those comments in a post on X on Thursday, describing them in strongly mocking terms and saying he did not know whether to laugh or cry. He claimed the remarks explained what he described as a fall in Obi's popularity.

Background

Obi, a former Anambra governor, came third in the 2023 presidential election as the Labour Party candidate and is now running on the NDC ticket with Rabiu Kwankwaso as his running mate. Exchanges between his camp and senior APC figures have grown more heated since campaigns began this month, with both sides trading personal attacks online.

What happens next

Obi is expected to continue his tour of the North Central, while the APC campaign has indicated it will keep challenging his record in office.

2027 electionsReported
A glass ballot box
Stock image: National Museum of American History / Wikimedia Commons, Public domain

Cars damaged as suspected thugs reportedly attack APC rally in Katsina

Suspected thugs reportedly stormed an APC campaign rally in Malumfashi, Katsina State, on Wednesday, smashing car windows and leaving several people with minor injuries. The police had not commented at the time of the report.

Read more

An All Progressives Congress (APC) campaign rally in Malumfashi Local Government Area of Katsina State was reportedly disrupted on Wednesday, 28 October 2026, when a group of suspected thugs attacked party members and their vehicles.

What happened

According to reports, APC supporters had gathered to campaign for the party's candidates ahead of the 2027 general elections when the attackers arrived. They were said to be chanting a Hausa phrase meaning 'we do not agree' as they threw stones and other objects at the crowd. Several cars were damaged, with windscreens and windows smashed, and the attack reportedly caused panic among motorists and passengers in the area. Several people are said to have suffered minor injuries, although no exact number has been given.

Official response

The Katsina State Police Command had not commented on the incident at the time of the report, and no arrests have been announced. The APC has also not issued a public statement on who it believes was responsible.

Background

Katsina, the home state of the late former President Muhammadu Buhari, is an APC stronghold, but the 2027 contest in the North West is expected to be keenly fought, with the ADC, NDC and other parties also campaigning hard for votes. Campaigns for the 2027 elections formally began this month, and security agencies have repeatedly warned parties against using thugs. Similar clashes at rallies have been reported in other states in recent weeks.

What happens next

Observers are calling on the police to investigate and on all parties to restrain their supporters as campaigning intensifies across the North.

2027 electionsReported
Rabiu Kwankwaso speaking to the press
Photo: VOA / Wikimedia Commons (Public domain)

Kwankwaso joins TikTok as NDC launches its 2027 campaign council

NDC vice-presidential candidate Rabiu Kwankwaso has announced that he is now on TikTok, promising verified information, live updates and glimpses of his daily life. The move came on the same day the party inaugurated its presidential campaign council.

Read more

Former Kano State governor Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, running mate to Peter Obi on the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) ticket, has joined TikTok as the 2027 campaign moves further onto social media.

What happened

Kwankwaso announced his arrival on the video platform in a post on his official X account on Wednesday, 28 October 2026. He said he would use TikTok to share verified information, live updates and exclusive content from his daily life, and closed the post with his campaign line that Nigeria will be okay.

Why it matters

TikTok has become one of the busiest spaces for political debate among young Nigerians, with supporters of all the major candidates producing videos, skits and live sessions every day. Several politicians have opened accounts in recent months to speak directly to younger voters. The NDC is expected to rely heavily on young people, who formed a large part of Obi's support base in 2023, while Kwankwaso's Kwankwasiyya movement has a strong following in the North.

Background

The announcement came on the same day the NDC inaugurated its presidential campaign council for the January 2027 elections. Kwankwaso, who was the NNPP presidential candidate in 2023, has teamed up with Obi on a joint ticket. The APC, ADC and other parties have also stepped up their online campaigns since the official start of campaigning.

How people reacted

Supporters quickly shared the account, while some critics joked that politicians only discover new apps during election season.

2027 electionsReported
A glass ballot box
Stock image: National Museum of American History / Wikimedia Commons, Public domain

Tompolo's PBAT movement presents 30 campaign vehicles in Owerri as Uzodimma backs Tinubu

The PBAT Door-to-Door Movement, led by Government Ekpemupolo (Tompolo), has launched its Imo chapter in Owerri with 30 campaign vehicles, 30 generators and 60 speakers. Governor Hope Uzodimma pledged to work with the group for President Tinubu's re-election.

Read more

A pro-Tinubu campaign group led by former Niger Delta militant leader Government Ekpemupolo, popularly known as Tompolo, has expanded into Imo State with a large show of campaign materials.

What happened

The PBAT Door-to-Door Movement inaugurated its Imo chapter on Tuesday, 27 October 2026, at the Ndubuisi Kalu Square in Owerri. The group presented 30 campaign vehicles, 30 generators, 60 public-address speakers and other materials for its work in the state. Tompolo was represented by Kestin Pondi, managing director of Tantita Security Services, the pipeline surveillance company linked to him.

What was said

Speaking for Tompolo, Pondi backed President Bola Tinubu's re-election and described the government's economic reforms as important for long-term development. Governor Hope Uzodimma praised the initiative and promised to work with the movement, saying the campaign should go directly to communities and explain government policies to residents across Imo's 27 local government areas. The administrator of the Presidential Amnesty Programme, Dennis Otuaro, and the movement's national coordinator, Sunday Asuku, were also present, along with APC leaders.

Background

The movement has been rolling out chapters across the country ahead of the January 2027 elections. The Owerri event came at a busy time for Uzodimma, who is also involved in a court fight over the APC's Imo West senatorial ticket and has rejected the Rainbow Coalition in the state.

Why it matters

The South East has been difficult ground for the APC in recent presidential elections, and the party is investing heavily to improve its showing there in 2027.