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The Smart Boys Movement (SBM), Oyo State Chapter, organised a solidarity endurance walk in Ibadan to mobilise support for Allied Peoples Movement (APM) candidates ahead of the 2027 general elections.
The event, tagged Smart Endurance Walk – Ibadan 2026, brought together coordinators and members from 20 local government areas across Oyo Central and Oyo South Senatorial Districts, with activities featuring engagements with lawmakers at the Oyo State House of Assembly and the Chairman of the Oyo State Agency for Youth Development.
The procession commenced at Iwo Road Underbridge, where members from the 11 local government areas of Oyo Central converged, and at Shoprite, Dugbe, which hosted participants from the 9 local government areas of Oyo South. The two groups proceeded to the Oyo State Secretariat before moving to the Assembly complex.
At the Oyo State House of Assembly, the Deputy Speaker, Rt. Hon. Abiodun Mohammed Fadeyi, who represents Ona-Ara State Constituency; Hon. Olorunpoto Cephas Rahaman, representing Oyo East/Oyo West State Constituency; and Hon. Waheed Kolawole Akintayo, representing Oluyole State Constituency. The lawmakers addressed the gathering and acknowledged the importance of youth participation in political activities.
Deputy Speaker of the Oyo State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Abiodun Mohammed Fadeyi, speaking on behalf of the Speaker, assured the Smart Boys Movement of the Assembly leadership’s support whenever the group seeks assistance, expressing their readiness to support its activities and engagement with young people.
Olorunpoto commended the movement for its grassroots mobilisation, contrasting its approach with that of other youth groups whose activities, he said, had not produced tangible results. “We, the political leaders and candidates, know the face of the SMART BOYS MOVEMENT members, unlike some youth movements that parade many cities with cars and buses without any tangible result or footprints of achievement,” he said.
He added: “We appreciate you now, and you will always be appreciated even when we get to office.” His remarks underscored the importance of sustained engagement between political leaders and youth groups as the 2027 elections approach.
The movement later visited the Chairman of the Oyo State Agency for Youth Development, Prince Adebowale Falana, for discussions on youth inclusion, political participation and opportunities for collaboration with relevant government institutions.
Falana commended the group for its mobilisation efforts and expressed confidence in its readiness to support APM candidates across the state. “Members of Smart Boys Movement have done well as an association and movement, and they have really shown that they are ready to work for all the APM candidates across all 33 local government areas in Oyo State,” he said.
He added, “I am assuring you that the Oyo State Government under the leadership of Engineer Seyi Makinde is going to support you fully.” The assurance followed discussions on the involvement of organised youth groups in government programmes and activities, although the specific forms of support were not detailed.
Speaking during the engagements, the movement’s leader, Hon. (Rotarian) Funso Jide Adekunle, popularly known as Honourable Fushi, thanked the lawmakers, the agency chairman and other dignitaries for receiving the participants. He reaffirmed the movement’s commitment to working with APM candidates from the national level to polling units, describing the walk as a demonstration of its unity, discipline and grassroots organisational capacity.
The Oyo State Executive Director of SBM, Comrade Ayoade Waheed Lawal, said the movement was open to young people from different professional, educational, economic and social backgrounds, including traders, artisans, students, entrepreneurs and professionals. He explained that its objective was to provide an organised platform for youth participation in leadership, community development and nation-building, beyond the activities of political office seekers.
The movement said it intended to strengthen its structures across the local government areas represented and expand its mobilisation network to federal constituencies, wards and polling units ahead of the 2027 elections. The walk marked its latest effort to demonstrate support for APM candidates while promoting organised youth participation in the state’s political process.
