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From Juliana Taiwo-Obalonye and Francis Onyedikachukwu, Abuja
President Bola Tinubu’s daughter and Iyaloja-General of Nigeria, Mujidat Tinubu-Ojo, yesterday launched a nationwide grassroots political movement targeting 10 million votes for the All Progressives Congress (APC), declaring that the economic hardship currently confronting Nigerians was a necessary phase in the implementation of her father’s reforms.
The movement, known as the “Iyaloja General Movement for Renewed Hope Initiatives,” was inaugurated at Eagle Square, Abuja, with its leadership announcing the mobilisation of about 2,500 support groups and the establishment of structures across the 36 states, local government areas and wards to rally market women, traders and other grassroots supporters behind Tinubu’s re-election bid.
Tinubu-Ojo, who acknowledged the difficulties Nigerians were experiencing, likened the administration’s economic policies to the pains of childbirth, insisting that the sacrifices being made by citizens would eventually produce benefits and should not be undermined by a change of government in 2027.
“What he is doing right now is like a pregnant woman going through labour. We are labouring now. Almost all Nigerians are feeling what he is doing now. The policies are painful, but the end result will justify the means.”
The Iyaloja-General maintained that continuity in government was necessary to consolidate the administration’s economic reforms, urging Nigerians to consider their anticipated long-term benefits rather than the immediate hardship associated with their implementation.
She particularly defended the removal of petrol subsidy, arguing that the additional revenue available to the federal, state and local governments had enabled them to undertake development projects and meet financial obligations, including the payment of workers’ salaries.
According to her, the movement was established to sensitise market leaders, traders and other members of the informal sector to the forthcoming elections and encourage them to participate actively in the political process.
“What we are putting together as market leaders is to encourage our people, to sensitise them on the next election, at which direction they should follow,” she said.
Tinubu-Ojo described market women and men as a formidable political constituency whose influence extended beyond commercial activities to households and communities across the country.
She explained that the movement would operate through a coordinated leadership structure comprising a director-general, secretary, state coordinators, local government coordinators and other officials responsible for grassroots mobilisation.
The Iyaloja-General said the organisation would seek to build support for the President’s re-election by explaining the administration’s policies and programmes to traders and other Nigerians, particularly those directly affected by the prevailing economic difficulties.
Also speaking, the Director-General of the movement, Nasiru Ladan, disclosed that approximately 2,500 support groups had already been attracted to the initiative, while several other associations had indicated interest in joining.
He said the groups had been incorporated into the movement’s organisational structure, with arrangements underway to develop a comprehensive database of supporters across the states and local government areas.
“We have just started; it has been launched today, and we have machineries in motion in all the states, local governments up to wards level,” Ladan said.
He disclosed that the movement intended to deploy 10 facilitators to each polling unit, with each facilitator expected to mobilise 100 voters as part of its strategy to achieve the 10 million-vote target.
Although he expressed confidence in the feasibility of the target, Ladan did not provide a detailed breakdown of the projected votes or explain the mechanism for independently verifying the figures.
He said market women and men would play a central role in the mobilisation exercise, maintaining that greater awareness of the administration’s policies and programmes would help the movement expand its support base.
The Lagos State Director-General of the movement, Adejumbo Omofumilewa, described the inauguration as a mini-rally in support of Tinubu’s re-election, expressing confidence that the APC would improve its performance in Lagos during the next presidential election.
Omofumilewa claimed that the political circumstances responsible for Tinubu’s defeat in Lagos during the 2023 presidential election had been addressed, adding that subsequent electoral victories recorded by the APC had strengthened the party’s organisational confidence.
“What happened in 2023 that made our candidate to lose the presidential election in Lagos State is already taken care of, because now, everybody is following him,” Omofumilewa said.
The Lagos coordinator attributed the party’s 2023 setback partly to its failure to adequately assess the political situation in the state, describing the outcome as a betrayal.
Omofumilewa also dismissed the prospect of a significant electoral challenge from opposition parties, including the political movement associated with the NDC presidential candidate, Peter Obi.
“Obi is not a threat, neither any party is a threat in Lagos State. We are in charge,” Omofumilewa declared.
The inauguration marks the formal commencement of the movement’s nationwide activities, with its organisers seeking to translate their network of market associations and grassroots support groups into electoral backing for Tinubu and the APC ahead of the 2027 polls.
