Makinde-Daura campaign launches nationwide town hall meetings ahead of 2027 election

The Makinde-Daura Presidential Campaign Organisation has announced the start of nationwide zonal town hall meetings as part of its consultations and grassroots mobilisation ahead of the 2027 general election.

The meetings will begin in Katsina on Tuesday, 22 September, before moving to other geopolitical zones across the country.

Anthony Ehilebo, Special Adviser on Media and Digital Communication to Allied Peoples Movement presidential candidate Seyi Makinde, announced the programme at a news briefing in Abuja on Sunday.

Ehilebo said the town halls were designed to provide citizens and stakeholders with opportunities to engage the campaign on issues affecting the country.

“As we continue with our consultation and mobilisation, it is imperative to inform Nigerians that we have commenced our scheduled town hall meetings for broad-based citizen and stakeholder engagement,” he said.

He said the meetings would eventually cover all six geopolitical zones.

Under the initial schedule, the North-West town hall will take place in Katsina on 22 September, followed by the South-South meeting in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, on 25 September.

The campaign will then move to Lafia, Nasarawa State, for its North-Central meeting on 28 September before holding the South-East session in Enugu on 30 September. Dates for the remaining zones are expected to be announced later.

The campaign organisation said the meetings would be issue-based and citizen-driven, with discussions focusing on national stability, governance and the welfare of Nigerians.

Ehilebo said the campaign’s “Reset Nigeria” agenda was centred on building a government in which leaders were accessible and accountable and public resources were managed transparently.

“Our message is to reset Nigeria to a nation that truly works for all,” he said.

The Makinde-Daura campaign has presented the town halls as part of a wider effort to take its political message directly to voters and allow citizens to contribute to discussions on national priorities.

Makinde, the governor of Oyo State, is contesting the 2027 presidential election on the platform of the Allied Peoples Movement, with Lawal Daura as his running mate.

Campaign cites growing grassroots support

Ehilebo said the campaign was receiving increasing support from Nigerians across different communities and described the “Reset Nigeria” initiative as a growing grassroots movement.

“Our campaign has become a grassroots movement, gaining an unprecedented upswing in momentum,” he said.

The campaign also pointed to the APM’s performance in recent off-cycle elections and by-elections as evidence of what it described as growing support for the party.

In the 19 September Bauchi State House of Assembly by-elections, APM candidate Adamu Yakubu won the Sakwa State Constituency seat, while the All Progressives Congress secured the other Bauchi seat in Disina. The APC also won three other legislative contests held in Gombe, Kano and Delta states on the same day.

Ehilebo said the Sakwa victory reflected what the campaign regarded as increasing public acceptance of the APM.

The campaign organisation invited Nigerians to participate in the forthcoming town halls, saying the meetings would provide an opportunity for citizens to engage directly with its political agenda.

It said the consultations would form part of its broader nationwide mobilisation ahead of the 2027 presidential election.

The town hall programme comes as political parties and presidential campaigns intensify engagements with voters ahead of the polls, with campaigns increasingly focusing on policy proposals, grassroots mobilisation and direct interaction with citizens.