By ERICJAMES OCHIGBO

Deputy Speaker of House of Representatives, Rep. Benjamin Kalu, has mandated Renewed Hope Partners (RHPs) to mobilise no fewer than 150 million supporters across the country for President Bola Tinubu’s 2027 re-election bid.

Kalu gave the charge in Abuja on Friday while hosting a delegation of the support group from Edo, Ekiti and Katsina states.

The deputy speaker, who is the founder of the initiative, said that the objective of RHPs was to promote achievements and activities of government while advancing Nigeria’s democracy and securing the future of the country.

He urged the group to promote the Renewed Hope Agenda and make it a talking point in all market places, churches, mosques, motor parks and campuses across the country.

“This initiative speaks to the future of Nigeria. Whatever we do today is to make us a better nation in the years to come.

“We want to have campus branches in all the universities in Nigeria; we want to have our presence in all the major markets, in all the local governments in Nigeria.

“We even want to be in all the beer parlours, all the churches, all the mosques and motor parks. We want to be there; anywhere people have a gathering to discuss, we want the agenda to be there and for it to be the agenda.

“So your work is to make the agenda of Mr President the agenda of every common man by breaking it down in the language they will understand; if everybody embraces this agenda of Mr President, they will know why they are voting for APC.

“You are making people more aware. If it is an election, you go to campaign. If it is voters’ registration, you go there and mobilise. If it is advocacy, you will be there.

“Our ambition is to raise 150 million supporters online. As ambitious as that sounds, we are getting some registrations going on as we speak and the numbers are looking very interesting, which means people are embracing the message of the Renewed Hope Agenda,” he said.

According to him, the mandate of the group goes beyond 2027, as it includes lobbying members of parliament in support of special bills, such as the reserved seat for women bill, independent candidacy, local government autonomy and state police, among others.

While describing members of the group as change agents, nation builders and defenders of democracy, the deputy speaker the group was open to all lovers of Tinubu for partnerships and synergies that would advance the cause of the nation.

Earlier, the RHPs National Coordinator, Mr Mathias Ehizua, said the group was an initiative of the deputy speaker.

Ehizua said that the delegation came to update Kalu on the activities of the group and the progress so far made within the two months of its establishment, with regards to online registration of members.

The group, according to him, stands out in terms of promoting the activities of the president, as it is the only support group with an online database.

In separate remarks, all the state leaders of the group pledged their commitments to the membership drive across all polling units, wards and local government areas in their respective states.

The Edo Coordinator, Mr Armstrong Adedigba confirmed that a total of 11,800 members had so far been registered in the state within the two months of its establishment.

Of the 11,800 members, Adedigba said that 1,000 are bishops and religious leaders, with commitment to the cause of the group.

He stated that farmer groups, civil society organisations and clergy groups had also expressed their readiness to adopt and subscribe to the RHPs in Edo. (NAN)

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