The Abuja Gathering That Built Gwamna a Campaign Machine

Some political events are ceremonial. Others quietly restructure how a campaign actually functions. The Gombe State Stakeholders' Engagement forum, held in Abuja in early July 2026, was firmly the latter.

The gathering was chaired by Dr. Aliyu Modibbo Umar, Special Adviser on General Duties to the Vice President, a signal of how seriously the meeting was being taken.

In the room: former ministers, retired military officers, ex-permanent secretaries, ambassadors, professors, and business leaders, a cross-section of Gombe's establishment that does not assemble for just any candidate.

The forum formally endorsed Dr. Gwamna as the preferred APC governorship candidate, and built practical infrastructure by approving Political and Technical Directorates for mobilisation, policy development, and strategic communication.

Most consequential was the creation of a High-Powered Reconciliation and Stakeholders' Engagement Committee tasked with reaching out to former aspirants and their supporters, a deliberate act of stitching unity back together.