North Central youths have unveiled a dedicated support platform endorsing President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s re-election bid ahead of the 2027 general elections, adding another regional voice to the growing wave of youth mobilization across Nigeria.

The North Central Youths Support Group for Tinubu 2027 announced its formation alongside plans for a formal public inauguration scheduled to take place at the Tinubu Support Group Office at No. 2 Kainji Crescent, off Lake Chad Crescent, Maitama, Abuja.

Former House of Representatives member Hassan Omale Atayoma will lead the organization as Chairman of the Board of Trustees, bringing legislative experience and familiarity with federal governance to the movement.

Atayoma, who currently serves as Executive Director of the Lower Niger River Basin Development Authority, oversees programs linked to water resource management, agriculture and infrastructure development, experience that supporters believe will enhance the group’s administrative efficiency.

The organization has also appointed Comrade Isa Daniel (Prof) as Advisor. He presently serves as Deputy Director of Organising at the APC National Secretariat, a position associated with party coordination and nationwide mobilization.

Political backing for the initiative includes Hon. James Abiodun Faleke as Grand Patron, whose role is expected to provide mentorship, strategic counsel and national visibility for the youth movement.

Organizers have positioned the platform as a vehicle for youth-led advocacy, political engagement and grassroots mobilization across the North Central geopolitical zone comprising Benue, Kogi, Kwara, Nasarawa, Niger, Plateau states and the Federal Capital Territory.

The group pledged commitment to peace, unity, democratic principles and policies aimed at economic growth, job creation and sustainable national development under Tinubu’s leadership.

The North Central endorsement follows a similar declaration by the Northern Nigeria Youth Leaders Forum, which raised ₦200 million to purchase President Tinubu’s APC nomination form for the 2027 elections.

At a high-level youth engagement held in Abuja on Monday, NNYLF National Leader Murtala Gamji announced that the forum had unanimously decided to support Tinubu’s second term, citing achievements in security, agriculture, infrastructure and youth empowerment.

“We believe in the unity of Nigeria and in the agreement that the South should complete its eight years before the North comes in,” Gamji stated, adding that northern youths would stand by President Tinubu as he completes a second term.

The ₦200 million cheque was presented to Director-General of the Tinubu Support Groups, Alhaji Tanko Yakasai, who described it as a generous and impactful contribution demonstrating northern youth faith in the president’s leadership.

Similarly, Kogi State youths on Sunday presented a ₦100 million cheque to Governor Ahmed Usman Ododo to cover the cost of Tinubu’s APC presidential expression of interest and nomination forms.

The Commissioner for Youth and Sports Development, Monday Aridaya Anebei, said the donation represents the collective resolve of young people across Kogi’s 21 local government areas to back President Tinubu for a second term.

Governor Ododo described the endorsement as neither emotional nor symbolic, but a deliberate and collective decision rooted in youth assessment of Tinubu’s leadership, citing gradual naira stabilization, increased food availability and improved fuel affordability.

The National Youth Council of Nigeria has also declared nationwide support for Tinubu, with President Ambassador Sukubo Sara-Igbe Sukubo pledging to mobilize 40 to 60 million youth votes to guarantee victory in 2027.

However, barely one week after its grand opening, part of Tinubu’s campaign office in Makurdi, Benue State, was demolished by officials of the Benue State Urban Development Board, sparking controversy and raising questions about the challenges facing pro-Tinubu mobilization efforts in some North Central states.

Despite the setback, organizers of the North Central Youths Support Group have expressed confidence that their grassroots network and leadership structure will effectively deliver the region’s youth vote for President Tinubu’s re-election.

The All Progressives Congress in Osun State has accused Governor Ademola Adeleke of deliberately distorting facts regarding the tenure status of local government council officials and misrepresenting the circumstances surrounding withheld allocations.

In a statement issued by the party’s Director of Media and Information, Kola Olabisi, the APC claimed Governor Adeleke’s recent state broadcast contained falsehoods designed to confuse the public about the legitimacy of council chairmen and councillors currently occupying local government secretariats across the state.

“The governor’s broadcast was a ploy to use falsehoods to confuse and ultimately misinform members of the public, as it is far from the truth that the reinstated APC chairmen and councillors have been illegally occupying the local government council secretariats for about one year,” Olabisi stated.

The opposition party insisted that the matter before the Federal High Court in Osogbo concerns only the determination of the three-year tenure granted to APC council executives, not an application for tenure elongation as claimed by the governor.

Olabisi argued that it would have been more honest for Governor Adeleke to disclose that the reinstated APC council officials are also questioning the legality of conducting another election while their tenure remains under judicial review.

However, Governor Adeleke has maintained that the council officials’ tenure expired in October 2025, describing their continued presence at the secretariats as a severe criminal breach of the law and the Constitution.

“If you admitted your tenure has lapsed, what are you still doing at the councils? Filing a case does not extend your tenure, and the constitution does not permit it. Osun APC are engaging in a severe, criminal breach of the law and the constitution,” Adeleke declared in his response.

The governor’s spokesman, Olawale Rasheed, countered the APC’s allegations by emphasizing that multiple court judgments, including those from the Federal High Court in November 2022 and affirmations by the Court of Appeal in February and June 2025, had nullified the elections that brought the APC officials to office.

Adeleke has demanded the immediate release of over ₦130 billion in statutory allocations allegedly withheld from Osun’s 30 local governments since February 2025, warning that the blockade is crippling grassroots governance and inflicting hardship on workers and residents.

The governor accused former Osun Governor and current Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Adegboyega Oyetola, of supporting the continued occupation of council secretariats with police backing, an action he described as undermining democracy and the rule of law.

According to Adeleke, the withheld funds are critical for paying salaries of primary school teachers, nurses working in 332 primary healthcare centers, council workers, traditional councils and retirees. He revealed that the state government has had to make painful sacrifices to pay these salaries for almost 12 months.

The Chairman of the Association of Local Government of Nigeria in Osun, Abiodun Idowu, defended the APC officials’ presence at the councils, claiming they have legal backing from the Court of Appeal judgment of February 10, 2025.

“We are in the council secretariats legally, as we have approached the court to determine the issue of our tenure, which will come up February 3, after which we will know our position,” Idowu stated.

The escalating war of words between the state government and opposition party reflects deepening tensions ahead of the August 8, 2026 governorship election, where both camps are positioning themselves for what promises to be a fiercely contested poll.

In December 2025, the Supreme Court dismissed Osun’s attempt to force the release of the withheld funds, ruling that the state attorney-general lacked the legal right to sue on behalf of the councils, though the court acknowledged that the federal government had wrongly withheld the money.

Former Labour Party presidential candidate Peter Obi has sharply criticized President Bola Tinubu over repeated national grid failures, reminding him of his 2022 campaign pledge to deliver steady electricity or forfeit a second term in office.

In a statement posted on his X account on Wednesday, Obi referenced Tinubu’s campaign declaration: “If I do not provide steady electricity in my first four years, do not vote for me for a second term.”

The former Anambra State governor noted that the national grid has already collapsed twice in January 2026 alone, with the month not yet over, following approximately 12 collapses recorded throughout 2025.

“This reality sharply contradicts the promise and should worry every patriotic Nigerian,” Obi wrote, describing the recurring system failures as deeply troubling for Africa’s most populous nation.

Obi drew a striking comparison between Nigeria and Turkey, where President Tinubu is currently conducting a state visit. He pointed out that Turkey, with a population of approximately 87 million people—roughly a third of Nigeria’s—generates and distributes over 120,000 megawatts of electricity, while Nigeria struggles with less than five percent of that capacity.

The politician urged the president to prioritize addressing domestic challenges rather than embarking on continuous international trips. “Our appeal is simple: stay at home and confront the nation’s problems,” Obi stated, warning that unchecked governance failures could soon make foreign visits appear insensitive to public suffering.

Obi also criticized what he described as Nigeria’s obsession with electoral politics at the expense of effective governance, calling for unity in demanding accountability from political leaders.

“We should be joining hands to demand accountability and responsible leadership, and to save Nigerians from the indignity and suffering caused by persistent bad governance,” the former governor added.

The statement follows Friday’s grid collapse, which plunged the entire country into darkness when power generation crashed to zero megawatts around midday. The Nigerian Independent System Operator attributed the failure to simultaneous tripping of multiple 330 kilovolt transmission lines and disconnection of several generating units.

This marks the second grid failure in January 2026, following an earlier collapse recorded earlier in the month. The pattern mirrors 2025, when the first grid collapse also occurred in January and was subsequently followed by multiple failures throughout the year.

Nigeria has consistently ranked as the country with the lowest electricity access globally for three consecutive years from 2023 through 2025, leaving nearly 100 million citizens without reliable power supply despite being Africa’s largest economy.

President Tinubu departed for Turkey on Sunday, January 26, for a state visit focused on strengthening bilateral cooperation in energy, defense, trade and investment. The trip has attracted criticism from opposition figures who argue the president should focus on resolving Nigeria’s chronic power crisis before pursuing international engagements.

Obi concluded his statement with his trademark refrain: “A New Nigeria is POssible.”