By ALEX ENEBELI

A coalition of Registered Voters in South-East has launched a group called “Village Boys Movement,” (VBM), to mobilise 1 million new voters in rural communities for the Peter Obi/Rabiu Kwankwaso presidential ticket, ahead of 2027.

Chief Maxi Ukwu, Chairman of the coalition and South-East Village Boys- for Obi/Kwankwaso (OK), disclosed this on Thursday during a stakeholders’ meeting in Enugu.

He said their target was on South-East rural communities.

Okwu, a former National Chairman of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), said the movement was a grassroots-driven, non-partisan support platform focused on voter mobilisation across rural communities in the region.

“We are a coalition of registered voters supporting the presidency of Peter Gregory Obi.

“We are not a political party, but a support movement open to everybody regardless of party affiliation or gender, ” he said.

According to him, the group’s target is to add 1 million new voters ahead of the Jan. 13, 2027 presidential election through intensive grassroots sensitisation and voter registration across the South East.

“The strategy is mobilisation at the grassroots; that is why we call it ‘Village Boys’.

“We want to ensure that people in the villages participate actively in the electoral process,” he said.

Okwu added that the movement would work to ensure greater vigilance during future elections to prevent what happened to Obi in 2023.

“We believe Peter Obi won the last election; this time, we want to ensure that every vote counts and is protected,” he said.

Also speaking, the Secretary-General of the movement, Rev. Christopher Obioha, said the group

p was formed to complement existing political structures of NDC and Obidients supporting Obi/Kwankwaso ahead of 2027 polls.

Obioha said the movement became necessary because of the need to strengthen grassroots political structures, especially in rural communities where many eligible voters had become politically apathetic.

According to him, the movement would focus on voter registration, polling unit coordination and election monitoring across communities in the South-East and beyond.

“We want to ensure that every polling unit has committed individuals who will mobilise voters and also safeguard the electoral process against vote manipulation and violence,” he stated.

Obioha, who is the Leader, Njiko Igbo Forum Nigeria, noted that although the movement originated in the South-East, membership was spreading rapidly across Nigeria and among Nigerians in the diaspora.

“Within one week of opening our platform, more than 570 people from different parts of Nigeria and abroad joined the movement.

“We have people joining from Germany, South Africa, the United Kingdom, the United States, Lagos, Kaduna and other locations,” he said.

He added that the movement was not intended to replace existing political support groups but to complement their efforts through physical grassroots engagement rather than social media campaigns. (NAN)

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