NDC Targets Ilorin’s Obi Support Base as Obi-Kwankwaso Campaign Steps Up Mobilisation
2027: NDC Targets Ilorin’s Obi Support Base as Obi-Kwankwaso Campaign Steps Up Mobilisation
The Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) has intensified its grassroots mobilisation in Kwara State, taking the Peter Obi-Rabiu Kwankwaso campaign directly to the streets of Ilorin as preparations for the 2027 general elections gather momentum.
The party’s mobilisation on Saturday covered about nine kilometres across the Kwara State capital, with supporters moving from the Offa Garage area through major parts of Ilorin before ending around the Emir’s Palace and Oja Oba.
The procession, described by organisers as a “one million-man march”, was designed to increase the party’s visibility and take its message directly to voters. (The Guardian Nigeria)
NDC looks to build on Obi’s 2023 performance
A major factor behind the party’s focus on Ilorin is Peter Obi’s performance in the city during the 2023 presidential election.
Obi, who contested that election on the Labour Party platform, secured 31,166 votes across Kwara State.
In Ilorin West and Ilorin South alone, he recorded a combined 22,872 votes, according to figures cited by The Guardian.
The NDC is now seeking to build on that existing support as it presents Obi and Kwankwaso on its platform for the 2027 election. (The Guardian Nigeria)
This gives the party an identifiable electoral base in the state, but the challenge will be whether support previously recorded under another party can be transferred to the NDC platform.
From 2023 support to a new political platform
The 2027 contest is different from the 2023 election because Obi is no longer contesting under the Labour Party platform.
The NDC has now positioned Obi as its presidential candidate and Kwankwaso as his running mate, making the mobilisation in places where Obi previously performed strongly an important part of its grassroots strategy.
The party’s Kwara chairman, Abdulsalami Abdulganiyu, said the mobilisation was intended to demonstrate the NDC’s presence and communicate its message directly to voters.
Several NDC candidates participated in the Ilorin event, including Abdulrasheed Sulaiman Omoda, the party’s Kwara Central senatorial candidate, and Thomas Audu Gana, its Kwara North senatorial candidate. (The Guardian Nigeria)
Campaign message expands beyond presidential politics
The Ilorin mobilisation also provides an opportunity for the NDC to introduce its wider slate of candidates to voters.
While the Obi-Kwankwaso ticket remains the central focus of the party’s national campaign, the NDC is also seeking support for candidates contesting National Assembly and other positions.
That means the party’s challenge is not simply to generate enthusiasm around its presidential ticket but to establish structures capable of supporting candidates across different constituencies.
The NDC has already said it is working on its campaign organisation and beginning the mobilisation of polling agents ahead of the 2027 elections. (The Guardian Nigeria)
Economic concerns feature in Kwara campaign
Economic hardship also featured in the campaign message delivered by NDC candidates in Kwara.
Omoda linked the party’s campaign to concerns about poverty and economic conditions in the state.
However, a figure he cited for Kwara’s multidimensional poverty rate did not correspond with the zonal figures reported from the National Bureau of Statistics’ multidimensional poverty data. The Guardian reported rates of 69.1 per cent for Kwara Central, 74.2 per cent for Kwara North and 72.6 per cent for Kwara South. (The Guardian Nigeria)
The distinction is important because campaign claims about economic conditions need to be separated from independently measured statistics.
Grassroots structure becomes the next test
The Ilorin march gives the NDC visibility, but sustaining that momentum will require more than large public gatherings.
The party has been working on a formal presidential campaign structure while also directing state and local government officials to begin identifying and coordinating election agents.
According to the NDC, the agent mobilisation is intended to establish party representation for National Assembly, governorship and state assembly elections. (The Guardian Nigeria)
The development comes amid separate organisational issues involving the Obi-Kwankwaso Movement, a support group backing the ticket. The NDC previously distanced itself from a 59-member campaign council announced by the movement, saying the structure was not its official presidential campaign council. (TheCable)
That distinction highlights the importance of coordinating campaign groups, party structures and grassroots organisers as the election approaches.
Ilorin becomes another test of NDC’s reach
The latest mobilisation shows that the NDC is attempting to turn Obi’s previous electoral presence in Ilorin into a foundation for its 2027 campaign.
The immediate political significance of the exercise will ultimately depend on whether the party can maintain its grassroots organisation, broaden support beyond Obi’s existing voter base and translate campaign visibility into votes across Kwara’s different constituencies.
For now, the Ilorin procession marks another stage in the NDC’s effort to establish the Obi-Kwankwaso ticket as a nationwide campaign rather than one dependent solely on the support networks associated with either candidate.
