First Lady of Nigeria Oluremi Tinubu, on Monday, announced the collapse of the various women support groups established for President Bola Tinubu into a single structure under the All Progressives Congress (APC), as she inaugurated the APC Presidential Women Campaign Council ahead of the 2027 general elections.

Mrs Tinubu said the new campaign structure would coordinate the mobilisation of women across the country for APC candidates at all levels, from the presidency to governorship, National Assembly and state assembly elections.

Speaking at the inauguration at the Bola Ahmed Tinubu International Conference Centre in Abuja, the First Lady said the decision was aimed at creating a unified women’s campaign structure for the party.

“We have collapsed every other women support group 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,” she said.

“From Presidency, governorship, National Assembly and State Assembly, that is what we are here for.”

Mrs Tinubu said the new council would organise six zonal mega rallies, state rallies and a grand finale in Abuja, adding that she and the wife of the Vice President, Hajia Nana Shettima, would participate in the zonal campaigns.

She said the wife of the Senate President, wife of the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the Chairperson of the Nigeria Governors’ Spouses Forum would represent her at state-level campaigns.

The First Lady urged Nigerian women to support President Tinubu’s re-election, saying the administration’s Renewed Hope Agenda 2.0, themed “From Reforms to Prosperity,” was already yielding results.

“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,” she declared.

“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.”

Mrs Tinubu charged the women to return to their respective states and communicate the administration’s achievements to voters, describing the President as a leader willing to take difficult decisions.

“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,” she said.

She called on the 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,” she said.

“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.”

APC National Women Leader, Dr Mary Alile Idele, said the women’s campaign machinery would take the administration’s 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.

Alile said APC women would strengthen their networks across wards, local governments and communities, identify women requiring support and connect them with available empowerment opportunities.

“We must move from mobilisation to measurable actions with clear responsibility, grassroots structure, regular engagement and accountable results,” she said.

“The time to organise is now. The time to act is now, and the time to turn the Renewed Hope into prosperity is now.”

She pledged the commitment of APC women to President Tinubu’s re-election, saying: “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.”

Minister of Women Affairs and Social Development, Imaan Sulaiman-Ibrahim, said the women had a responsibility to ensure that the reforms of the 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 said the administration had prioritised women’s economic empowerment, food security and social protection, while also reviewing outdated policies and laws affecting children and families.

Describing the President as “easy to sell,” Sulaiman-Ibrahim urged the women to take the campaign to every level of society.

“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,” she said.

The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Sustainable Development Goals, Princess Adejoke Orelope-Adefulire, speaking on behalf of female presidential aides, challenged each woman 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 said.

She urged the women to reconcile differences within their families and communities and work together for the mobilisation of voters.

“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,” Orelope-Adefulire said.

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 said.

Yari described women as the “loyal workers” of the APC and urged them to translate their mobilisation into votes in 2027.

He said: “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 Professor Olufolake Abdulrazaq, said the governors’ wives were prepared to participate in 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.

Abdulrazaq 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,” she said.

She added: “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 said.

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 the exception of Anambra and Rivers States that have not been within the past three years,” she said.

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,” Mrs Shettima said.

The 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 in singing, “Go and tell them, Tinubu is coming back again.”

The Wife of the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hajia Fatima Abbas, thanked the women for their participation and pledged continued support for the APC campaign, saying the wives of House members were ready to mobilise 20,000 women in each of their constituencies.

Director-General/Chief Executive Officer of the National Identity Management Commission, Bisoye Coker-Odusote, who spoke on behalf of the 40 female chief executive officers appointed by President Tinubu, commended the President for appointing women to leadership positions.

She urged women to mobilise voters for the APC while calling for greater representation of women at the federal and sub-national levels.

The speakers pledged to take the APC campaign to the grassroots as the party begins preparations for the 2027 general elections. (Daily Sun)

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