• Targets all-round APC victory from presidency down to state assembly
•Collapses all women support groups into one, unveils Tinubu women campaign council
•Says reforms moving Nigeria from crisis to prosperity
Deji Elumoye in Abuja
Wife of the President, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, on Monday charged women across the country to mobilise voters at the grassroots for the re-election of President Bola Tinubu in January, 2027.
Speaking at the inauguration of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential Women Campaign Council in Abuja, the First Lady said the various women support groups that had hitherto operated separately under different banners had been collapsed into one campaign structure dedicated to the course of APC victory at all levels.
According to her: “We have collapsed every other women support groups 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”.
Mrs Tinubu stated that the newly inaugurated council would coordinate campaigns for APC candidates from the Presidency to Governorship, National Assembly and State Assembly elections.
“From Presidency, governorship, National Assembly and State Assembly, that is what we are here for”.
She explained that the women campaign would feature six zonal mega rallies, state rallies and a grand finale in Abuja, with herself and the wife of the Vice President, Nana Shettima, expected to participate in the zonal campaigns alongside other party leaders, while the wife of the Senate President, Wife of the Speaker and Chairperson of the Governors Spouses Forum expected to represent her at the state rallies.
Mrs Tinubu, who urged Nigerian women to support President Tinubu for a second term, said the administration’s “Renewed Hope Agenda 2.0: From Reforms to Prosperity” was already producing results.
She said: “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 told the women to return to their respective states and communicate the administration’s achievements to voters, describing President Tinubu as a leader willing to take difficult decisions in the overall national interest.
“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”.
The First Lady also called on women to demonstrate their support for the APC at the ballot box.
“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”.
“Thank you for standing by him, thank you for believing in the Renewed Hope Agenda. Thank you for your determination to vote for Mr President for a second term. Thank you for praying, thank you for not giving up on Nigeria.”
Earlier, APC National Women Leader, Mary Alile Idele, described the gathering as an opportunity to move the administration’s reform message from government policies to 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 the party’s women leadership would strengthen networks across wards, local governments and communities, identify women requiring support and connect them to available empowerment opportunities.
“We must move from mobilisation to measurable actions with clear responsibility, grassroots structure, regular engagement and accountable results”.
“The time to organise is now. The time to act is now, and the time to turn the Renewed Hope into prosperity is now.”
Idele pledged the commitment of APC women to President Tinubu’s re-election.
“Let us take this summit not merely inspired, but organised, equipped and ready to take action to every community on behalf of progressive women globally.”
On her part, Minister of Women Affairs and Social Development, Imaan Sulaiman-Ibrahim, who spoke on behalf of all female ministers who were also present at the event, said the women had a responsibility to ensure that the reforms of the Bola Tinubu administration translated into tangible benefits for Nigerians.
“There is no time for us to settle than now,” she said, urging the women to work as one team.
She commended the administration for what she described as its focus on women’s economic empowerment, food security and social protection.
According to her, President Tinubu had also prioritised the review of outdated policies and laws affecting children and families.
“I look forward to working with each and every one of you from door to door, ward to ward, logo to logo, house to house, corner to corner, person to person, family to family, work to work, local government to local government, state to state, to deliver our candidate”.
Also, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Sustainable Development Goals, Princess Adejoke Orelope-Adefulire, speaking on behalf of female presidential aides, challenged every woman at the gathering to return home and 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”.
She urged women to reconcile differences in their families and communities and work together for the political mobilisation of the party.
“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”.
Director-General of the Presidential Campaign Council, Senator Abdulaziz Yari, said the turnout of women at the inauguration demonstrated their 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 described women as the “loyal workers” of the APC and urged them to translate their mobilisation into votes in 2027.
“Women give 60 per cent of the total vote of any presidential election in Nigeria. Therefore, Your Excellency, for spending time on behalf of the PCC, we appreciate this effort, and we believe strongly that what we translate on ground will translate to both our polling booths come January 2027.”
The First Lady of Kwara State and Chairperson of the Nigeria Governors’ Spouses Forum, Ambassador Olufolake Abdulrazaq, said the wives of state governors are prepared to join 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 across the country.
“We see the impact. We see the effects. Even our mother, all of you have received the Renewed Hope Initiative grants for our elderly, for our women, for our people with disabilities, our young people.
“All our delegates have come from every corner of Nigeria, representing over 774 local governments and 36 states of the federation. We are ready to mobilise, mobilise, mobilise.”
Wife of the Vice President, Hajia Nana Shettima, urged the women to take the message of the administration’s programmes back to their communities.
“Please, I want you to take back this message to your different localities. 2027 is a perfect time”.
She highlighted interventions under the Renewed Hope Initiative, including support for students, women, older persons and people living with disabilities.
“During the visits of Renewed Hope Initiative, we have gone to all the 36 states of the federation. I’ve been to all with exception of Anambra and Rivers States that have not been within the past three years”.
According to her, the programmes provided an opportunity for Nigerians to “pay back” President Tinubu through their support in 2027.
“It’s the time for us to pay back to our dear President”.
Wife of the Senate President, Mrs Ekaette Akpabio, also rallied the women behind the campaign, saying the women present represented different senatorial districts across the country.
She led the Senators wives to sing “Go and tell them Tinubu is coming back again”.
Wife of the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hajia Fatima Abbas, similarly thanked the women for their participation, while pledging continued support for the APC campaign. She said the wives of the members of the House of Representatives are ready to mobilise 20,000 in each of their constituencies.