By SHEDDY OZOENE
Two weeks ago, I visited a National Assembly candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) from one of the South-East states at his Abuja home. He had just returned from his state, where the 2027 campaigns were already gathering momentum, and I wanted to find out how he was coping.
My first observation was that he looked unusually tired for a campaign that had barely started. He looked almost as if his return to Abuja was an escape from the heckling back home.
“My brother, e no easy o,” he told me.Obviously. It was written all over him.
After the usual pleasantries, with some drinks on the table, he treated me to a tale of how the campaign was shaping up; he confided in me that those of them in the President’s party may have misjudged the level of acceptance of President Bola Tinubu in the South-East.
It was shortly after the incident in which Senator Mao Ohuabunwa was publicly heckled while appealing to people of the South-East to support President Tinubu for a second term. In the widely circulated video, Ohuabunwa, a former senator, was addressing a gathering and trying to sell the President’s candidature. But the mere mention of Tinubu’s name appeared to trigger an uproar. He was practically shouted down.
I wondered aloud why it was proving so difficult for APC leaders in the zone to sell their party and the President to voters in a region where they insist that the administration has performed creditably, particularly in provision of infrastructure.
It is particularly curious because the Minister of Works, Dave Umahi, has repeatedly highlighted the Federal Government’s infrastructure projects in the South-East and boasted that they would translate to massive support for the President in 2027. Indeed, “Most Distinguished”, as many people now call my friend since he picked the party’s ticket, once boasted that President Tinubu would win the South-East before noon on election day.
So, what has changed? Many explanations sufficed, even if none was convincing, even to the man offering them.
The campaign has not gone full blast, but the early signs are revealing: APC leaders in the zone are already finding it difficult to sell President Tinubu on the campaign trail. But how can a presidential campaign be ongoing without supporters flying with their candidate’s name? They now mention their other candidates by name: the governors, senators, members of the House of Representatives and state assembly candidates, avoiding to ask the people directly to vote for Tinubu. Instead, there is a new political slogan in town:
“Top to Bottom.”
Everybody appears to be playing safe. Nobody wants to be shouted down at a campaign rally, or to elicit boos, murmurs or a likely backlash. So, rather than say, “Vote Tinubu for President,” the APC supporters have found a coded way of passing the message:
“On election day, make sure you vote APC, Top to Bottom.”
“Top to…?”…”Bottom!”
“Top to…?”…”Bottom!!”
The meaning is not difficult to decipher. But why has it become so difficult for APC supporters to convince South-East voters that President Tinubu deserves a second term?
This is where the paradox begins.The APC has arguably never been as politically visible in the South-East as it is now. Yet the growing presence of governors, senators and other political heavyweights in the party has not translated into popular enthusiasm. The political elite may have moved, but the grassroots have not necessarily moved with them.That is the fundamental challenge.The movement of prominent politicians from one party to another has created an impression of political realignment that may be greater than what is happening at the grassroots.
The question many ordinary voters are asking is straightforward: The governors, National Assembly members and local legislators have gained influence and access by moving to the APC, but how has their movement improved the life of the ordinary person?
That question captures a deeper political reality. People want infrastructure, and Umahi and Co. have repeatedly highlighted the Federal Government’s ongoing road and other infrastructure projects in the region. But voters also want to know why the cost of living has become so difficult. They want to feel that their region is respected and fairly treated. They want to know whether the political alignment of their leaders is producing tangible benefits beyond acceptance at the corridors of national political power. These competing narratives are now part of the political conversation in the South-East.
For many people, however, some of the most visible forms of political engagement since the transitioning remain the distribution of empowerment items and other material benefits through groups such as the City Boy Movement, led in the South-East by businessman Obi Cubana. The movement has organised empowerment activities involving items such as sewing machines, deep freezers, grinding machines, and other livelihood support. One such programme in Owerri in March 2026 was disrupted when participants scrambled for the items.
How does a self-respecting geopolitical zone interpret that? Is it empowerment or political tokenism?
Political defections may change the arithmetic among the political elite, but elections – if they are free and fair – are ultimately decided by voters. That is the challenge the APC leaders in the South-East must confront as the 2027 campaign gathers momentum. “Top to Bottom” may be a clever way of passing the message without provoking the backlash that a direct appeal for Tinubu might attract. But a slogan, no matter how cleverly crafted, cannot substitute for genuine voter acceptance. For now, that grassroots appeal is deeply lacking.
