….Inaugurates 2000 ward Excos, targets other South west states for Tinubu’s re-election
By: Oluwatosin Babatunde
Towards mobilising the people of Ondo State to participate in the 2027 presidential election and to support the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu administration, the Asiwaju Mandate Group (AMG), Ondo State chapter, has commissioned its state secretariat.
Similarly, the group inaugurated more than 2,000 executives for the 203 political wards across the state.
The event, which attracted a large turnout of party loyalists, cultural troupes, popular musician Buga, and political associates, was described by the organizers as a bold step to consolidate the grassroots structure of the group in Ondo and beyond.
Speaking at the ceremony, the Director General of AMG, Hon. Olumuyiwa Asegunla, said the new edifice would serve as the Ondo State secretariat but was designed to become the group’s national headquarters.
According to him, similar structures were already springing up in Osun, Ekiti, and Lagos States, signaling a nationwide expansion.
Asagunla, hailed the Tinubu government for appointing two indigenes of Ondo State, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo and Ayo Olawande, as Minister of Interior and Minister of Youths and Sports respectively, unlike in the past when Ondo State produced Ministers of State.
He assured that by 2027 Ondo State would reciprocate by exceeding the previous 68.9 percent votes given to Mr President at the presidential polls, saying that the Tinubu government had been performing well, as shown by the improvement in the state of Nigeria’s economy.
Asagunla stressed that with the NELFUND project of President Tinubu, every Nigerian youth now has a chance to acquire tertiary education, emphasising that students do not need any connection to access the loan.
“You will refund it without interest 10 years after graduating and getting a job. Likewise, our youths in tertiary institutions can apply for N25,000 monthly stipend. Education in our technical schools is also free, plus N20,000 monthly stipend,” he said.
Asagunla said that the AMG was supporting the Tinubu administration because of its people-oriented programmes and policies, highlighting the prompt removal of fuel subsidy which put an end to the siphoning of crude oil proceeds into private pockets.
The AMG helmsman said that the fuel subsidy had never been in the interest of Nigerians, adding that even other candidates at the 2023 presidential election also promised to remove it.
While emphasising that the group is not campaigning for the president but mobilising the masses to support his administration, Asagunla noted that the economic hardship which followed the fuel subsidy removal has subsided.
His words: “Initially, things went hay wire. Garri was sold for about N1,200 per kongo, rice for about N1,500 per kongo. Petrol was sold between N1,200 and N1,700, but now the prices have come down, which means that things are getting better in Nigeria. If things are getting better within such a short time, it means we should let the government of Asiwaju continue.”
In an address, the Chairman of the AMG Elders Council, Senator Yele Omogunwa, also praised President Tinubu for his giant strides in office, citing an improvement in Nigeria’s inflation rate, petrol pump price and the prices of goods in the market.
Omogunwa also noted that Tinubu had embarked on a lot of road projects previously abandoned, while commending the President for giving two indigenes of Ondo State appointments as substantive ministers.
The Representative of Ondo State in the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) Board, Hon. Otito Atikase, said that the AMG was formed to create awareness ahead of the 2027 presidential election, adding that the group has members at the grassroots across Ondo State.
He also said that the group aims to enlighten the masses about the good works of the President.
Atikase said, “We have not started campaigning but we are mobilising the people ahead of the election. We want to change the narrative from what it was in the past by voting massively for the ruling party at the presidential election this time around. Various road projects have taken place around us which is a good sign. Also, we have two substantive ministers. We have to show our appreciation to Mr President for that.”
Also, the Director of Special Duties, AMG, Engineer Babajobi Babatunde, while noting that there are other support groups mobilising grassroot support for Mr President, said that all of them are working for the same goal, to ensure that President Bola Tinubu’s administration succeeds.
He disclosed that apart from the state and local government executives, 2,030 ward coordinators were inaugurated at the event, 10 from each of the 203 wards in the state.
