2027: APC women begin grassroots mobilisation for Tinubu, Mutfwang in Plateau
By Comfort Pius, Jos
The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Plateau State has commenced a women-led grassroots mobilisation campaign ahead of the 2027 general elections with the inauguration of the Tinubu Torchbearers (TTB), a support group saddled with the responsibility of mobilising women across the state for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Governor Caleb Mutfwang and other APC candidates.
The inauguration, held at Crispan Hotel, Jos, brought together women leaders and delegates from the 17 local government areas of the state, with party leaders urging them to take the party’s message and government programmes to the grassroots ahead of the elections.
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The initiative is expected to strengthen the APC’s presence at the grassroots by engaging women across communities and mobilising them in support of the party’s candidates in the 2027 elections.
Representing Governor Mutfwang at the event, Deputy Governor Hon. Josephine Piyo said the initiative should serve as a platform for positive political engagement, grassroots mobilisation, civic education, and community development.
She stressed that political support must be accompanied by responsibility to the people, urging the Torchbearers to ensure their activities went beyond political launches and ceremonies.
According to her, political participation should be driven by the desire to improve the lives of citizens and strengthen communities.
“The ultimate purpose of politics must not be the pursuit of power for its own sake, but the deployment of power to improve lives, create opportunities, strengthen institutions, and build a more prosperous and secure society.”
Piyo challenged the Torchbearers to make their activities meaningful at the community level by engaging with residents, empowering young people, and supporting vulnerable groups.
“To the Torchbearers, I challenge you to let your torch shine beyond political launches and ceremonies. Let it shine through service to humanity, community engagement, youth empowerment, support for vulnerable people, and advocacy for peaceful coexistence,” she said.
She also urged the group to listen to the concerns of the people, promote peaceful participation in democratic processes, and reject violence, hate speech, misinformation, and divisive politics.
In his remarks, the Plateau State APC Chairman, Hon. Rufus Bature, charged members of the group to take the party’s message to the grassroots and work for the success of APC candidates in the 2027 elections.
Bature said the party had commenced preparations to consolidate its gains, urging members to remain committed to the APC at all levels.
“We must work very hard. It is not yet over. We must work very hard because of the gains that we have made,” he said.
He called on members to support President Tinubu, Governor Mutfwang, and other APC candidates, insisting that party members had no reason to look elsewhere.
“We do not have any island to go to. We will build APC and work for APC from bottom to top, and top to bottom. We do not have an excuse to talk about any other thing. There is no middle ground to that. It is either you are APC or you are not APC,” Bature said.
The APC chairman, while acknowledging the economic difficulties confronting Nigerians, likened the reforms being implemented by the Federal Government to a painful medical procedure which would eventually produce positive results.
Also speaking, the APC North Central Women Leader, Dr. Esther Samuel Alu, described the TTB as a support group under the office of the APC National Women Leader, saying its responsibility was to strengthen the party’s connection with the grassroots.
Alu said the Torchbearers were expected to work with the Plateau State Women Leader to mobilise women across communities and support Tinubu, Mutfwang, and other APC candidates.
She said the group would help bridge the gap between the party and the people while building support for APC candidates across Plateau State and Nigeria.
“The TTB is not here to undermine the power of the office of the State Women Leader. It is to work with the Women Leader and, if possible, when you receive instructions from the office of the state, mobilise women at the grassroots, bridge the gap between the party and the grassroots, and gain support for President Tinubu, Governor Caleb Mutfwang, all the senators, all the members of the House of Representatives, the House of Assembly and all our candidates in Plateau State and Nigeria at large.”
Alu also urged women to take active roles in politics, saying women constituted about 57 per cent of the electorate and therefore remained critical to the success of the party at the polls.
The First Lady of Plateau State and State Coordinator of the Renewed Hope Initiative, Barr. Helen Mutfwang, urged the newly inaugurated Torchbearers to take the message of government interventions to communities across the state.
Mutfwang said the initiative had a responsibility to mobilise people at the grassroots while highlighting interventions targeted at women, vulnerable groups, and persons living with disabilities.
“The torch has been lit, but the work continues. The only way to protect these gains and sustain them is to go back to our communities and mobilise,” she said.
She charged the women to “go to your communities and let the people know the truth about what the government is doing”, urging them to sensitise and mobilise residents at the grassroots.
“Speak with one voice for the election of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Governor Caleb Mutfwang,” she said.
In their goodwill messages, the Chairperson of the Plateau State Gender and Equal Opportunities Commission, Olivia Dayzem, and the Commissioner for Women Affairs and Social Development, Hon. Caroline Dafur, appreciated the state leadership for supporting the launch.
They urged Plateau women to take the message of the Tinubu administration’s interventions to communities across the state.
They said women across the 17 local government areas had an important role to play in mobilising support for Tinubu, Mutfwang and other APC candidates in the 2027 elections.
The speakers also highlighted interventions under the Renewed Hope Initiative targeted at women, elderly people, persons living with disabilities, and other vulnerable groups.
The launch of the Plateau chapter of the Tinubu Torchbearers marks an early effort by the APC women’s structure to build a statewide grassroots mobilisation network ahead of the 2027 elections, placing women at the centre of the party’s campaign strategy across the 17 local government areas.