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From Juliana Taiwo-Obalonye, Abuja
Network Capacity Building for Nigeria (NECABN) has endorsed President Bola Tinubu’s second-term bid ahead of the 2027 presidential election, vowing to unleash its vast network of over 72 million registered members for a nationwide mobilization drive.
In a briefing with journalists in Abuja, NECABN President Hussena Otaru described the endorsement as a resounding vote of confidence in Tinubu’s reforms.
“Our team, the Network Capacity Building for Nigeria cuts across six geopolitical zones of the country and we control a total of 72 million Nigerians under the group of NECBN where we have 419 registered other NGOs training and directly impacting the lives of Nigerians,” she stated, highlighting the group’s structure and reach.
Otaru traced NECABN’s history of supporting progressive leaders, noting its evolution from the Nigerian Women and Youth Empowerment network, which backed Chief MKO Abiola in 1993, Olusegun Obasanjo in 1999, and the Yar’Adua-Jonathan ticket. “NECABN had operated under our previous registered name of Nigerian women and youth empowerment and this network of people had been supportive of transformative and progressive democracy in Nigeria, since 1993,” she recalled, adding that the group contributed to Muhammadu Buhari’s 12 million votes.
Praising Tinubu as a “reformer and a bold strategist” who defended democracy like no other Nigerian, Otaru dismissed opposition critics like Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi as “serial contenders” driven by “vested interests and political bitterness.” She linked recent security attacks to efforts to derail Tinubu’s recovery agenda, insisting four years is insufficient to fix decades of rot. “In almost three years that President Tinubu has been steering the ship of leadership of Nigeria, there is no way a serious minded successful reformer like Tinubu will lead Nigeria and we will expect him to spend just four years and fix the rot of several decades.”
Otaru acknowledged early economic turbulence but hailed subsequent gains, urging Nigerians to endure for continuity. “The first year of administration was turbulent… that was the time of pains but, I can assure you that Nigeria has entered into season of rest and gains,” she said, commending citizens’ sacrifices and Tinubu’s action-oriented style despite inheriting an “empty purse and almost a wrecked system.”
She spotlighted key reforms, including over N150 billion invested in 788,000 students via the Nigeria Education Loan Fund, enforcement of local government financial autonomy, and improved tax-to-GDP ratio from 10% to 13.5% without burdening the poor. “No VAT on basics like food, school fees, medical services, pharmaceuticals, or electricity,” Dr. Otaru noted, citing 4.6% GDP growth in Q4 2024, a narrowed fiscal deficit to 3.0%, and debt service-to-revenue ratio below 40%.
For 2027, Otaru positioned Tinubu’s second term as essential for stability. “We need to allow President Bola Tinubu complete what he started… with resolute leadership as President Tinubu has since consistently demonstrated this becomes realizable,” she concluded, as NECABN gears up to deploy its grassroots machinery.
