2027: Akobundu Urges South-East Women to Back APC, Says Continuity Will Secure Children's Future

By Olushola Akinyele, Presstv News Nigeria

Hon. Princess Gloria Akobundu, PhD, fsi, has urged women of Igbo extraction in the South-East and across Nigeria to support the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the 2027 general elections, arguing that continuity in government would help consolidate ongoing reforms in education, grassroots governance and social intervention.

Akobundu, who made the call in an open letter addressed to Umu Ada Igbo, said the 2027 election would provide an opportunity for Nigerians to consider policies and programmes that she believes could shape the future of the next generation.

She described herself as a daughter of Igboland, mother, educationist and public servant, saying her appeal was motivated by concerns about the future of Nigerian children.

According to her, “continuity is not about loyalty to individuals,” but about sustaining policies and programmes that she said were already benefiting families and communities.

Presstv News Nigeria learnt that the major part of her argument centred on education, particularly the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND).

Akobundu said the student-loan programme had created a structured avenue for eligible Nigerian students to access interest-free educational loans, helping to address financial barriers to tertiary education. NELFUND’s official portal currently describes the scheme as interest-free, with repayment beginning two years after the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC). (Nelfund Student Loan Portal)

She also highlighted the role of the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) in supporting public tertiary institutions through interventions in infrastructure, instructional materials, research, libraries and staff development. TETFund says its mandate includes providing supplementary support to public tertiary institutions, while its 2026 intervention provides more than ₦2.5 billion to each public university, alongside allocations to polytechnics and colleges of education. (TETFund)

Akobundu further argued that greater stability in the tertiary education system was important for students and families, saying prolonged disruptions to academic calendars had previously affected students’ educational progression.

On local governance, she cited the Supreme Court’s 2024 decision concerning financial autonomy for local governments, arguing that stronger grassroots financial independence could improve the delivery of services such as roads, primary healthcare, basic education, markets and community development.

She also pointed to federal social-intervention programmes, including cash transfers to vulnerable households, as measures that she said could provide support to families facing economic hardship.

According to Akobundu, the combination of education financing, tertiary-institution intervention, grassroots governance and social support represents a foundation that should be sustained rather than abandoned.

She therefore appealed to Umu Ada Igbo to consider continuity when making their political choices in 2027.

“Our children are watching us,” she said, stressing that the aspirations of young Nigerians seeking careers in medicine, engineering, entrepreneurship and other fields should remain central to political decision-making.

Akobundu said continuity would, in her view, provide an opportunity to build on existing programmes rather than begin afresh.

She concluded by urging women across the South-East and other parts of Nigeria to support the APC in 2027, saying the future of Nigerian children should remain a major consideration in the electoral process.