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• Remi Tinubu merges support groups, inaugurates women’s campaign council
From Juliana Taiwo-Obalonye and Okwe Obi, Abuja
Ondo State Governor, Lucky Aiyedatiwa; Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo; former governor Olusegun Mimiko and 222 others have been named in the state’s All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential Campaign Council to mobilise support for President Bola Tinubu’s re-election in 2027.
The announcement came as First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, inaugurated the APC Presidential Women Campaign Council in Abuja, merging women’s support groups backing the President into a single party structure.
Other members of the Ondo council include Deputy Governor Olaide Adelami, Taiwo Oyedele, Olamide Oladiji, Jide Ipinsagba and Adeniyi Adegbonmire.
Ondo APC Chairman, Kolawole Babatunde, said in a statement that the council would coordinate and strengthen grassroots mobilisation for Tinubu and other APC candidates in next year’s general elections.
He said the council brought together experienced political leaders, stakeholders, women and youth leaders, support groups and grassroots mobilisers committed to advancing the Renewed Hope Agenda and securing victory for the party.
“The development is expected to further unite APC stakeholders and supporters across the 18 local government areas of Ondo State towards a successful electioneering campaign,” he said.
At the inauguration of the women’s council on Monday at the Bola Ahmed Tinubu International Conference Centre, Abuja, Mrs Tinubu said the campaign would cover APC candidates at all levels.
“We have collapsed every other women support group into one — from Tinubu Again, Torch Bearers, etc. What you will see on the ballot box is APC. We’re here to promote APC, nothing less.”
“From Presidency, governorship, National Assembly and State Assembly, that is what we are here for.”
She announced plans for six zonal mega rallies, state campaigns and a grand finale in Abuja, adding that she and the wife of the Vice President, Hajia Nana Shettima, would participate in the zonal campaigns.
Wives of the Senate President and Speaker of the House of Representatives, alongside the chairperson of the Nigeria Governors’ Spouses Forum, would represent her at state-level campaigns.
Mrs. Tinubu urged women to support the President’s re-election, saying the administration’s Renewed Hope Agenda 2.0, themed “From Reforms to Prosperity,” was yielding results. “The theme of this year’s rally, Renewed Hope Agenda 2.0: From Reforms to Prosperity, is not just a slogan. It is our reality.
“Our economy is stabilising. Inflation is coming down. Our foreign reserves are growing. Investors are returning to Nigeria. Our farmers are getting more support. Our children in the universities are now able to access student loans through the NELFUND (Nigerian Education Loan Fund) scheme, just to mention a few.” She charged the women to return to their states and communicate the administration’s achievements to voters, describing Tinubu as a leader willing to take difficult decisions.
“Tell everyone as you go back to your various states that you have a leader who is bold enough to take difficult decisions in the beginning. He is a leader who can be trusted to lead us into prosperity.
“Let us show the world that Nigerian women have spoken and we speak with one voice, that we vote APC again so that the solid foundation laid can be built upon,” she said.
APC National Women Leader, Dr Mary Alile Idele, said the campaign machinery would take the administration’s message to homes, markets and communities.
“Our responsibility is to take the gains and opportunities of the Renewed Hope Agenda from policy to the people, from government programmes to homes, markets, communities and the grassroots,” she said.
Alile said party women would strengthen their networks across wards and local governments, identify women requiring support and connect them with available empowerment opportunities.
“We must move from mobilisation to measurable actions with clear responsibility, grassroots structure, regular engagement and accountable results,” she said.
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Minister of Women Affairs and Social Development, Imaan Sulaiman-Ibrahim, urged the women to work as one team and ensure that the administration’s reforms translated into tangible benefits for Nigerians.
She said the government had prioritised women’s economic empowerment, food security and social protection, while reviewing outdated policies and laws affecting children and families.
Describing the President as “easy to sell,” she urged participants to take the campaign to households and communities across the country.
Senior Special Assistant to the President on Sustainable Development Goals, Princess Adejoke Orelope-Adefulire, speaking on behalf of female presidential aides, challenged each woman to mobilise at least 100 women for the APC.
“Go back to your communities, go back to your homes, door to door, neighbour to neighbour, community to community.
“We don’t want to leave any woman behind. So each and every one of us should go back to our community and mobilise 100 women.”
She urged participants to reconcile differences within their families and communities to strengthen voter mobilisation.
Director-General of the Presidential Campaign Council, Senator Abdulaziz Yari, said the turnout demonstrated the women’s readiness to drive the APC campaign.
“What we have here on ground, we believe we are ready to go. As a PCC, we are doing all what we can to support you, so that we continue to have one voice, one movement, one choice and one man,” he said.
Yari described women as the party’s “loyal workers” and urged them to translate their mobilisation into votes in 2027.
Kwara State First Lady and Chairperson of the Nigeria Governors’ Spouses Forum, Professor Olufolake Abdulrazaq, pledged the participation of governors’ wives in the nationwide campaign.
“All the first ladies are here. We are ready. We are ready for all the campaigns in all the states and all the campaigns in all the zones.”
She said the governors’ wives had witnessed the impact of the Renewed Hope Initiative, citing support for women, older persons, young people and persons with disabilities.
Mrs Shettima also urged the women to take the administration’s message back to their communities, saying its interventions provided an opportunity for Nigerians to reciprocate through electoral support.
“Please, I want you to take back this message to your different localities. 2027 is a perfect time,” she said.
“It’s the time for us to pay back to our dear President.”
Wife of Senate President, Mrs. Ekaette Akpabio, rallied participants behind Tinubu’s re-election and led senators’ wives in singing, “Go and tell them, Tinubu is coming back again.”
Wife of the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hajia Fatima Abbas, said the wives of House members were ready to mobilise 20,000 women in each of their constituencies.
Director-General of the National Identity Management Commission, Bisoye Coker-Odusote, speaking on behalf of the 40 female chief executive officers appointed by Tinubu, commended the President for appointing women to leadership positions.
She urged women to mobilise voters for the APC and called for greater female representation at the federal and sub-national levels.
