Top leaders of the All Progressives Congress (APC) from Nigeria’s South-South region have thrown their weight behind President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s 2027 re-election bid, declaring his second term a “settled matter.”

The endorsement was made during an APC stakeholders’ interactive session held in Benin City, Edo State, where party heavyweights praised Tinubu’s economic policies and grassroots-focused leadership.

Senator Adams Oshiomhole, former Edo State governor, hailed the president’s economic reforms, especially the exemption of small businesses with annual turnover below ₦50 million from taxation.

“You don’t donate blood from someone who is sick to save another who is sick,” Oshiomhole said. “Tinubu says the poor should be exempted from taxation. That is a reform with meaning.”

Also speaking, Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu declared that Tinubu’s re-election in 2027 is a foregone conclusion, promising that Edo State would deliver massive votes to the president.

Governor Bassey Edet Otu of Cross River, representing the Progressive Governors’ Forum, affirmed the South-South zone’s unwavering support for Tinubu’s leadership.

Other prominent attendees included Minister of Niger Delta Development, Abubakar Momoh; former Bayelsa Governor Timipre Sylva; NDDC Managing Director, Dr. Samuel Ogbuku; APC National Woman Leader, Mary Idele Alile; and numerous party stakeholders from across the region.

The APC’s Edo governorship candidate, Senator Monday Okpebholo, pledged to deliver 2.5 million votes for President Tinubu in 2027, citing the president’s impact on rural infrastructure development in Edo State.

“When I said we are going to deliver 2.5 million votes for the president by 2027, I meant it,” he declared. “The PDP former governor couldn’t even tar roads in his own community for eight years. I’ve gone there, and I’m doing the roads now.”

He further praised Tinubu’s resilience during the 2023 elections, despite challenges like cash scarcity and fuel shortages.

“There’s nothing they didn’t seize to frustrate him, except the air God created,” Okpebholo added. “We owe him our support. In Edo, our 2.5 million votes are settled.”

The South-South backing represents a significant boost to Tinubu’s early re-election momentum, with the APC aiming to consolidate influence in a region traditionally contested by opposition parties.