ABIA APC UNDER FIRE OVER ALLEGED RECYCLING OF 2025 CROWD PHOTO FOR FRESH PRESIDENT TINUBU RALLY

The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Abia State has come under intense scrutiny following the circulation of a photograph purportedly showing a mammoth crowd at a recent mobilisation for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s 2027 re-election bid.

The photograph, which resurfaced across social media and some media platforms on Sunday, September 6, 2026, has been presented as evidence of growing support for the APC and the Renewed Hope Partners (RHP) in Abia.

However, a review of earlier reports indicates that the widely circulated photograph is not from the latest mobilisation. Rather, the image appears to be from the RHP inauguration held in Bende Local Government Area in 2025, more than a year before the latest claims.

The Bende event was widely reported at the time, including by ABN TV, which published the photographs and video on June 1, 2025, under the headline: “Over 20,000 Join Renewed Hope Partners In Abia As Kalu Rallies Grassroots For Tinubu’s Vision.”

The report identified the gathering as an RHP mobilisation in Bende and attributed the massive turnout to the political mobilisation led by Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Benjamin Kalu.

Vanguard and THISDAY also reported the Bende gathering in June 2025, further establishing that the photograph predates the September 2026 political activity now being associated with it.

The resurfacing of the image has therefore raised a fundamental question about the manner in which the Abia APC is portraying its current grassroots strength ahead of the 2027 elections.

If the party has succeeded in attracting another mammoth crowd in September 2026, critics argue that there should be fresh photographs and videos from the latest event rather than an image from a mobilisation that took place in Bende in 2025.

The controversy has also reopened debate over the actual reach of the APC’s grassroots machinery across Abia State.

While the party has been able to demonstrate impressive mobilisation in Bende, largely regarded as the political stronghold of Deputy Speaker, Benjamin Kalu, questions remain over whether similar crowds can be consistently produced across the wider state without relying on the structures of prominent political figures.

Bende’s political equation is particularly significant because Kalu has built a formidable political network in the area, making it difficult to use the turnout at a Bende event as an automatic measurement of APC’s statewide popularity.

The same argument has been extended to parts of Umuahia, where the party has prominent political figures and former office holders capable of mobilising substantial numbers of supporters. But outside such political strongholds, the APC faces the more difficult test of demonstrating that the enthusiasm being projected online is genuinely widespread.

The issue is becoming increasingly important as the 2027 presidential contest approaches and political parties intensify their mobilisation efforts across the country.

For the APC’s national leadership and the Tinubu campaign machinery, the difference between an impressive photograph and a verifiable grassroots structure could prove crucial. A photograph can create the appearance of momentum within seconds.

Electoral strength, however, must ultimately be demonstrated through functioning ward structures, polling-unit mobilisation, committed supporters and sustained political activity across the state.

This is why the alleged recycling of the 2025 Bende photograph has generated such controversy.

Rather than simply showcasing an old image as evidence of present-day momentum, the Abia APC would have an opportunity to silence its critics by releasing verifiable photographs and videos from the latest event, identifying the location and date, and providing a transparent account of the number of participants.

The controversy also exposes a broader political reality ahead of 2027: one spectacular crowd does not automatically translate into statewide electoral dominance.

The APC may have genuine supporters in Abia, and its national profile under President Tinubu gives the party considerable political visibility. But the ultimate question is whether that visibility can be converted into a durable grassroots organisation capable of competing across all 17 local government areas of Abia.

For the party, the stakes are therefore higher than a social-media photograph. If the objective is to convince President Tinubu and the APC national campaign machinery that Abia is becoming a stronghold of the Renewed Hope agenda, then the evidence must go beyond recycled images and publicity. The party must demonstrate fresh mobilisation, fresh structures and fresh supporters.

After all, 2027 will not be decided by photographs circulating on social media. It will be decided at the polling units.

And that is where the real strength of the Abia APC will ultimately be exposed.