By Godwin Akomah, South – East Bureau
Enugu State Governor, Chief Peter Mbah, has warned that the South-East could face prolonged political isolation if it fails to make strategic political decisions ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Mbah said the region must abandon political isolation and embrace strategic alliances with other parts of the country to secure its political relevance and advance its interests at the national level.
The governor spoke in Enugu during the inauguration of As Tinubu, Mbah Moves (ATM), a political support group established by the Minister of Innovation, Science and Technology, Kingsley Udeh. He urged the people of the South-East to support President Bola Tinubu’s re-election bid in 2027.
According to Mbah, the region’s aspiration to produce Nigeria’s president cannot be achieved without deliberate political calculations, partnerships and alliances with other geopolitical zones.
He recalled that prominent Igbo political leaders of the First Republic, including the late Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe and Dr Michael Okpara, built alliances beyond the South-East to advance the political interests of the region.
“If we make a mistake in 2027, the danger is that we are still going to continue to be isolated. We are still going to continue to be ignored. Nobody would care because we have not been strategic in making ourselves relevant,” he said.
Mbah argued that the outcome of the 2023 presidential election should serve as a lesson for the South-East, noting that Tinubu secured victory despite receiving limited electoral support from the region.
He questioned the political implications of the South-East withholding its support from the president again in 2027, particularly if he secured another electoral victory without significant votes from the region.
“Imagine that the president won his election in 2023 without the support of the South-East. And this was when he wasn’t a president. The likelihood is that if we don’t support him this time again, he’s still going to win. What do you think that holds for us in the South-East?” he asked.
The governor also described Tinubu as a unifying figure and defended his administration’s economic reforms, particularly the removal of fuel subsidy and the unification of foreign exchange rates.
He maintained that although the policies had imposed difficulties, they were necessary to restore confidence in the economy, attract private investment and establish the foundation for sustainable economic growth and shared prosperity.
Mbah further challenged members of the ATM support group to intensify grassroots mobilisation ahead of the 2027 elections, urging them to take their campaign messages to communities, markets, families and polling units.
He cautioned supporters against complacency, insisting that political mobilisation must be sustained across all levels.
“Let us fight as though we’re the underdogs. Let us come out and campaign vigorously. Do not leave any stone unturned. You have to cover the ground. Get to our families, get to our kindreds, knock at their doors and tell them what you see around you,” he said.
Earlier, the Minister of Innovation, Science and Technology, Kingsley Udeh, said ATM would deploy technology to ensure that its mobilisation activities were measurable and properly documented.
Udeh disclosed that the group had established a digital situation room and dashboard to monitor membership registration and political activities across polling units.
He explained that the initiative was designed to eliminate unverified membership claims, adding that prospective members would register through an online portal using their Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) and Voter Identification Numbers (VINs).
The minister also revealed that the platform incorporated a reward system to encourage members to recruit others, while membership growth and mobilisation activities would be monitored through a central database.
“We don’t make claims. We say we have 20,000 members or 50,000 members by word of mouth. No, it will be tracked by records, by database,” he said.
The ATM Coordinator, Onyebuchi Igboke, said members of the group, many of whom previously operated in civil society, had resolved to mobilise grassroots support for Governor Mbah and President Tinubu.
He said the group would combine technology, knowledge and existing community networks to educate voters and ensure that its mobilisation activities translated into measurable electoral support.
