A social activist, Aisha Yesufu, has said she will adopt a different strategy in the 2027 general election for Peter Obi.
She said she would focus less on travelling with Obi on campaign tours and more on building polling unit structures and protecting votes.
Yesufu, who was prominent in Obi’s 2023 presidential campaign, said her decision was informed by the need to move beyond mobilisation and concentrate on what happens after voters cast their ballots.
In a video clip, the activist said her role during the 2023 campaign was largely to help convince Nigerians that Obi’s candidacy was not restricted to any ethnic or religious group.
According to her, the campaign succeeded in changing perceptions about Obi and expanding his support base among Nigerians who had initially doubted his chances in the election.
She said the focus for 2027 would, however, be different, with emphasis on ensuring that those who intend to vote for Obi are organised before election day and prepared to protect their votes.
“Yes, I will still campaign with Peter Obi when necessary, but you might not see me travelling around with him as much as possible,” she said.
Yesufu explained that she had other responsibilities to undertake ahead of the election, particularly in helping supporters establish networks at polling units.
She urged Obi’s supporters to organise themselves in advance and understand the processes for recording, transmitting and collating election results.
The activist said voters should not simply cast their ballots and leave, stressing that they must pay attention to how their results are recorded at the polling unit and subsequently moved through the collation process.
“Your vote that you voted, it must be entered. You must see it manually entered. Follow it. Escort your vote from your polling unit to the ward collation centre,” she said.
She also warned supporters to remain vigilant against mistakes or possible manipulation during the entry and collation of results.
Yesufu said the objective was to create a grassroots network capable of monitoring the entire electoral process rather than relying solely on large campaign rallies and state by state mobilisation.
She added that a growing number of young Nigerians were already contributing to the effort in different capacities, including voter mobilisation, photography, content creation and other campaign related activities.
“There are so many other things that I am doing. I am going to be doing so you might not get out as much as possible to ensure that I’m doing this,” she said.
Yesufu’s comments signal a shift from the highly visible campaign style associated with the 2023 presidential election to a more decentralised approach.
Obi contested the 2023 presidential election on the platform of the Labour Party and finished third behind Bola Ahmed Tinubu of the APC and Atiku Abubakar of the PDP.
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