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Former National Population Commission (NPC) Commissioner, Dr Abdulmalik Mohammed Durunguwa, and his supporters have started grassroots mobilization for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Kaduna State Governor Uba Sani ahead of the 2027 elections.
The development followed a recent engagement between Durunguwa and a large gathering of women involved in politics at her residence in Ladduga, Agunu Ward, Kachia Local Government Area of Kaduna State.
Durunguwa, in a post on his official Facebook page, said he received a “very large crowd” of politically active women who expressed their willingness to mobilize women, their husbands and other eligible members of their families in support of Tinubu, Uba Sani and the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidates. Project reports
The meeting comes at a time when political actors in Kaduna State are turning more and more attention to grassroots structures ahead of the 2027 electoral cycle, with mobilisation, alliances and representation becoming increasingly important in political discussions.
Grassroots mobilization takes center stage
Speaking on Kachia’s commitment, Senior Special Assistant to Governor Uba Sani on Public Affairs, Hon. Victor Mathew Bobai, said the development highlighted the importance of sustained political organization in Southern Kaduna.
Bobai said political participation should go beyond election day activities and social media campaigns, stressing the need for community consultations, advocacy, negotiation and continuous interaction with political institutions.
“Politics is an investment and our people must come together to fight for what is theirs,” he said.
He said Southern Kaduna’s political future requires engagement across religious, ethnic and social boundaries, particularly if communities want to build stronger channels to express their interests and engage government.
The emphasis on women is also significant in the context of grassroots politics, where family and community networks can provide avenues for political mobilization. Durunguwa’s account of the Kachia meeting specifically placed women at the center of the mobilization effort.
Durunguwa’s political journey
Durunguwa’s involvement in the latest mobilization comes in the context of a political and public service career spanning several years.
The source material states that he previously served in the Kaduna state government, including as executive secretary of the State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA), and later worked with the Public Complaints Commission. It also records his involvement in the field of ICT and agriculture.
His appointment as a Federal Commissioner representing Kaduna State at the National Population Commission was confirmed by the Senate in 2018. The official minutes of the National Assembly confirm that the Senate approved his appointment after considering the report of the relevant commission.
His political activities subsequently included engagements around Southern Kaduna and the APC. Bobai described him as one of the figures who contributed to the party’s development in the area and argued that political influence requires sustained organisation, relationships and participation.
From political competition to cooperation
Durunguwa was also among the aspirants involved in the APC governorship contest in Kaduna State in 2022.
Uba Sani emerged from the primaries as the party’s candidate having secured 1,149 votes, ahead of Bashir Abubakar, who scored 37, and Sani Sha’aban, who scored 10. Contemporaneous reports confirmed the result, although Sha’aban subsequently disputed the holding of the primaries.
The source material states that Durunguwa remained active in Kaduna’s political environment after the contest, while Bobai described his subsequent engagement as evidence of the possibility of moving from individual political contentions to broader political cooperation.
Bobai also described Durunguwa as an early voice involved in efforts around Uba Sani’s second term bid, although this remains Bobai’s characterization rather than an independently established fact.
Southern Kaduna and the question of unity
Beyond the immediate 2027 mobilization, Bobai said political engagement in southern Kaduna should address divisions that have often shaped political discussions in the region.
He highlighted the mix of Muslims and Christians, different ethnic communities, women, youth, professionals, farmers, entrepreneurs and supporters of different political parties.
According to him, these differences should not prevent communities from identifying areas of common interest and working together.
“It should be possible for a Southern Kaduna Muslim and a Southern Kaduna Christian to sit at the same political table, discuss their interests, disagree respectfully and still work together for the development of their communities,” he said.
Bobai said policy conversations should therefore pay more attention to infrastructure, agriculture, education, technology, employment, healthcare, youth participation, women’s involvement, political inclusion and economic opportunities rather than focusing solely on insecurity, religion and ethnicity.
MTC 2031 adds another dimension
Kachia’s commitment has also been linked to the emerging Make That Change, or MTC 2031, conversation associated with Durunguwa and his supporters.
According to the source material, advocates present MTC 2031 as a framework for discussions on political participation, organizing, inclusion and the long-term future of Southern Kaduna.
Its ultimate political significance remains open, as its organisation, policy proposals, public engagement and ability to develop into a broader political structure will determine the initiative’s evolution.
For Bobai, the immediate issue is the need for stakeholders to start discussing the kind of representation they want, the interests political leaders should pursue, and how women and youth can participate more effectively in the political process.
“These are questions that deserve answers beyond election seasons,” he said.
“We need to start asking for our share”
Bobai also urged Southern Kaduna stakeholders to think strategically about the region’s place within the political architecture of Kaduna State and Nigeria.
“If we don’t start asking for it now, it might be difficult to ask for it tomorrow,” he said.
He said the aim should be to develop a political constituency capable of articulating its interests through organisation, participation and constructive engagement, rather than waiting for periods of campaigning before raising issues of representation and development.
As the 2027 elections approach, the Kachia meeting offers a glimpse into how grassroots political networks are being activated in parts of southern Kaduna. It also places women’s participation and family mobilization within the broader debate about political representation in the region.
The meeting, however, should not be interpreted as evidence that everyone present will ultimately vote for the candidates mentioned. It establishes women’s participation and the support they expressed at the meeting, but individual voting decisions will only become clear through the electoral process.
For now, the pledge has added another layer to the political debate in southern Kaduna, bringing together the immediate 2027 mobilization around candidates Tinubu, Uba Sani and APC with a longer-term discussion on representation, inclusion and the emerging MTC 2031 initiative.
