ONBOARDING AND COHORT UNVEILING
The journey for the 2026 Cohort officially began on Friday, August 28th, 2026 with the Fellows Onboarding Program. This virtual orientation formally welcomed the new set of Fellows into the Emerging Political Leaders Fellowship and set the foundation for the months of intensive leadership development ahead. Immediately after, the Fellowship commenced its Meet The Fellows campaign, unveiling members of the cohort. The campaign introduced a diverse group of emerging leaders from across Nigeria and across sectors, including public service, medicine, geology, law, project management, entrepreneurship, and policy analysis, with names such as Muhammad Umar, Victoria Nwanne, Popoola Olaniyan, Philip Nwosu, Zakari Emmanuel, Timothy Amah, Akinlade Akinyemi, Godson Nwankwo, Abeeb Moshood and James Charles, among others. During this period, the leadership of the cohort was also announced, with Emmanuel Musa unveiled as President and Victoria Nwanne as Vice President.
PRE-TRAINING IMMERSION
The month of September opened with the Pre-Training Immersion Fireside Chat with our EPLF Alumni members on the theme: Leadership in the Spotlight: From Access to Influence, What Building Political Capital Really Looks Like as a Young Leader. The panellists for this session were Dr. Femi Oladele, Dr. Ruth Ngoka, Chukwudi Utazi, Nankwat Tongtok and moderated by Olajumoke Olasoji. The immersion was designed to prepare Fellows mentally and emotionally for the rigour of the Fellowship, aligning them with the values of empathy, civic responsibility and purposeful leadership that define the EPLF.
MODULE ONE: UNDERSTANDING NIGERIA
Core training commenced with Module One, focused on Government 101: Understanding Nigeria. Fellows were taken through a deep historical and governance exploration. The module began with Nigeria: Understanding The Backstory facilitated by Dr. Raphael James, followed by Nigeria: Contextualizing The Present, led by Mr. John Etim-Bassey, Evolution of the Nigerian Constitution, led by Mr. Taiwo Akinlami. Fellows also engaged in Designing The Nigerian Dream with Mr. Sam Hart, Chief of Staff to the Deputy Speaker, and sessions on State/Local Government and Decentralization, led by Mr. John Etim-Bassey. The module was complemented by a closed session of #FromTheTrenches: State of the Union.
MODULE TWO: THE EMERGING POLITICAL LEADER
Module Two shifted from national history to The Emerging Political Leader. It opened with Identity, Vision and Agenda featuring our Founder, Sen. Liyel Imoke and progressed into Empathy in Political Leadership with Mrs. Maryam Aiko Mohammed. Other sessions included Building Political Strategic Alliances with Mr. W. Bruce DelValle, Esq., Civic Engagement and Participation with Mr. Joseph Amenaghawon, Leadership Power Dynamics with Dr. Tunde Oseni, and Volunteering and Social Activism with Amb. Dr. Chikas Kumle. A major milestone under this module was the 2026 Fellows’ Think Tank Simulation Presentation on the theme Nigeria 2027: What Should Nigerians Look Out For In Their Candidate?, presented before a distinguished panel of reviewers.
MODULE THREE: RUNNING FOR OFFICE
In October, Fellows moved into Module Three, Running for Office. This module featured Party Politics with Prof. Haruna Dabin and Political Communications with Barr. Ifeanyichukwu Okereafor, Landscape, Stakeholder, Mapping and Mobilization, led by Dr. Joseph Edet, and Financing Your Campaign, led by Prof. Haruna Dabin. The second edition of #FromTheTrenches, titled A Peek Into The Back Office, featured Rev. Francis Adebayo, Barr. Ifeanyichukwu Okereafor and was experted moderated by Nankwat Tongok. Fellows also commenced their Lights, Camera, Leadership! Campaign Video Challenge course/group work.
MODULE FOUR: ELECTION MANAGEMENT
The current module is Module Four, Election Management, which has been highly interactive. Sessions has covered Understanding the 2026 Nigerian Electoral Act with Dr. Joseph Edet, Pre-Election with Rev. Francis Adebayo, Election D-Day and Immediate Post-Election with Emmanuel Njoku, and broader discussions on the electoral landscape. The most recent session, Submodule 5: Reclaiming Your Mandate, became a rich fellows’ peer-learning moment on how to reclaim and defend a mandate within Nigeria’s electoral process.
FLAGSHIP PUBLIC ENGAGEMENTS
Beyond closed training, the Fellowship sustained public thought leadership through her Green Circle Conversations on X Spaces. Four editions were held: Nigeria at 66: Are We Building The Future We Want?, Fix Nigeria or Flee Nigeria? What Must Change For Young Nigerians To Stay, From Complaints To Solutions: Can Young Nigerians Change Nigeria?, and Nigeria 2027: What Should Nigerians Look Out For In Their Candidates?. Fellows also contributed to national discourse through the EPLF Blog.
SEPTEMBER AND OCTOBER EDITIONS OF EPLF FELLOWS OF THE MONTH
The spirit of excellence continues to grow within the 2026 Cohort of the Emerging Political Leaders Fellowship.For the month of September, we celebrated 12 outstanding Fellows of the Month who distinguished themselves through active participation, peer support, and commitment to the Fellowship’s learning process.
In October, that number grew to 14 outstanding Fellows of the Month, reflecting increased engagement, consistency, and dedication across the cohort
Their consistency is a testament to what leadership looks like in practice, showing up, contributing, and lifting others along. Congratulations to all our Outstanding Fellows.
LEGACY PROJECTS AND CIVIC ENGAGEMENT AND COMMUNITY INITIATIVES
This period marks where learning translated into field action, with Fellows leading civic engagements across regions and platforms.
First, Fellow Hon. Amb. Emmanuel Bala Musa anchored a Civic Engagement at NYSC Orientation Camp on the topic The Efficacy of Exceptional Leadership. Held on 13th October by 11AM at an NYSC Orientation Camp, the engagement was anchored by the EPLF Fellow and targeted corps members under the NYSC scheme of Service and Humility. The session, themed Engage, Learn, Lead, with the tagline Better Leaders, A Stronger Nigeria, brought EPLF values directly into the NYSC leadership pipeline, inspiring young graduates on the principles of exceptional leadership.
Second, the EPLF South West Team launched a Market Sensitization Against Vote Buying, themed Your Vote, Your Voice, on Saturday, 24th October, 2026 at Bodija Market by 9:00 AM. The team engaged directly with traders and market women on the dangers of vote trading and the power of their vote.
Third, in a virtual drive, 2026 Fellow Oluwatoyin Magbagbeola hosted Beyond The Ballot, a civic engagement conversation for young people on how to get involved in governance beyond elections. Held on October 29th by 7PM via Google Meet and themed Your Voice, Your Power, Beyond The Ballot, the session created a pathway for sustained youth involvement in governance.
Fourth, Fellows expanded civic reach to the airwaves through the Civic Engagement Program on Mainland FM, Lagos. The program, which aired at 6PM, featured Special Guests Hon. Amb. Emmanuel Bala Musa, President of EPLF Fellows Cohort 5, and Comrade Boluwatife Opemikun Ajiboye, Treasurer of EPLF Fellows Cohort 5, discussing Leadership, Governance and Politics to a wider Lagos audience.
Fifth, Fellow Arinze Onyeka hosted the Civic Engagement Event tagged CivicTech Revolution, themed Empowering Young Citizens to Shape the Future of Democracy. Held on Wednesday, 21st and 28th October, 2026 at the Awareness Hall, Grundtvig Polytechnic, Oba, Anambra State, the event focused on Technology for Participation, AI for Accountability, and Youth for Democracy, equipping young citizens with innovative tools to strengthen democratic participation.
RECOGNITION AND REFLECTION
The period closed with the celebration of Fellows of the Month for outstanding participation and peer support, alongside consistent documentation of learnings through Session Snapshots. From onboarding to election management and now to community-driven legacy projects, the 2026 Cohort has shown that leadership is not just taught, but deployed for civic good.
Between August 28 and October 31, 2026, the EPLF 2026 Cohort recorded progress across training, leadership development, public engagement and thought leadership.
From onboarding to election management, the journey continues: equipping emerging political leaders to understand Nigeria, engage its citizens and help shape its democratic future.
November starts with a new module on “Sustainable Politics,” offering our fellows another significant learning opportunity. We are optimistic about what November holds for each of our fellows who will be exposed to more context necessary to facilitate their emergence as political leaders.
Follow the Fellowship on all our social media platforms to stay updated on all the fellowship activities on Facebook: @EPLFellowship, X: @EPLFellowship, Instagram: @EPLFellowship LinkedIn: Emerging Political Leaders Fellowship (EPLF). For more information on the fellowship kindly visit https://eplf.thebridgeleadership.org/. For more stories and insights from our Fellows, visit eplf.thebridgeleadership.org/blog
