Tinubu's Daughter Mobilizes Market Leaders for 2027 Elections

President Bola Tinubu’s daughter, Folasade Tinubu-Ojo, who is also the Iyaloja-General of Nigeria, has started a political support group. This group aims to gather support from market women, traders, and informal sector workers for her father's re-election in 2027.

The group is called the Iyaloja General Movement for Renewed Hope Initiatives. It was launched on Thursday at Eagle Square in Abuja. The leadership has set a goal of securing 10 million votes for the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the upcoming elections.

At the event, Tinubu-Ojo said the movement would educate market leaders and informal workers about the elections. She wants them to support the President’s re-election for better leadership.

She highlighted the importance of traders and market leaders as a strong voting group. She believes their influence at the grassroots level is key to the success of political parties.

"As a market leader, my role is to encourage our people and sensitise them about the next election and which direction they should follow, so that they will not derail. That is why I inaugurated my own movement, the Iyaloja General Movement."

"We know who is who and who is doing well, and whom we want to lead us in Nigeria. We are in the informal sector and form part of the grassroots. When you are talking about the electorate, the market leaders vote and monitor the process. We are powerful. The politicians know that they cannot joke with us. So, the informal sector drives the economy of any nation."

"We have a strong political structure that includes state coordinators, local government coordinators, the secretary and so on," she added.

Tinubu-Ojo defended her father’s economic policies. She admitted that these policies have caused hardship but insisted that Nigerians should give the government more time to see the benefits.

She stated, "President Tinubu has done well. He has policies that will enhance the country and make us do well again. What he is doing right now is like a pregnant woman going into labour. Almost all Nigerians are feeling what he is doing right now. The policies are painful, but the result will justify the pain."

"That is why we don’t want any other person who will drive us back. If we vote for somebody else, he will come up with his own idea. In fact, one of these presidential candidates has said he is going to return the fuel subsidy. Already, we can see the impact we have achieved since the removal of the fuel subsidy. Workers are getting their salaries paid on time, and several infrastructure are now in place."

"So, we just want President Tinubu to continue so that all the results we are experiencing now will not go down the drain. I understand everybody cannot like him. We are all entitled to our own opinion. But we want the best for the country. Even if you travel abroad, you will always be a second-class citizen wherever you travel," she said.

The Director-General of the movement, Dr Nasiru Ladan, mentioned that about 2,500 support groups have joined the initiative. He said more organizations are showing interest in becoming part of the movement.

Ladan explained that these groups have been included in the movement’s structure. He said they are also creating a database of supporters across various states and local government areas.

"We have just started; it has been launched today, and we have machinery in motion in all the states, local governments up to ward level," he said.

He added that the movement plans to use its grassroots network to turn its support efforts into votes for the APC in the next elections. According to him, the organization wants to send 10 facilitators to each polling unit, with each facilitator expected to mobilise 100 voters.

In a different interview at the event, the Lagos State Director-General of the movement, Adejumbo Omofumilewa, called the inauguration a mini-rally to gather support for the President ahead of the 2027 election.

Omofumilewa is hopeful that the APC will do better in Lagos State. Tinubu lost Lagos in the 2023 presidential election to Labour Party candidate, Peter Obi. She believes that the ruling party did not assess the political situation well before the election and sees it as a betrayal.

"What happened in 2023 that made our candidate lose the presidential election in Lagos State is already taken care of, because now, everybody is following him," she said.

Earlier, Akwa Ibom Coordinator of the Iyaloja General Movement, Obong Achibong, said the movement is widely accepted in the state. He is confident that market leaders will deliver more votes for President Bola Tinubu in the 2027 elections.

He remarked, "In Akwa Ibom, the movement has been accepted by our people, and it has come to stay. With this level of acceptance, it is certain that by 2027, our state will give more than 80 votes to President Bola Tinubu."

"So, we are confidently telling Tinubu to sleep and not bother to campaign because of the great work our governor is doing in Akwa Ibom and what the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, is doing at the Senate."