The Coalition of Presidential Campaign Council of Support Groups in Oyo State has appealed to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the leadership of the All Progressives Congress (APC) to recognise and re-engage grassroots support groups that mobilised for the President during the 2023 presidential election.
The coalition made the appeal on Saturday at an emergency press briefing and stakeholders’ meeting held at Domino Hall, Ring Road, Ibadan.
It said its structures across the state remained available to support the communication of government policies and programmes and strengthen grassroots engagement ahead of the 2027 general elections.
The meeting was presided over by the coalition’s Chief Coordinator in Oyo State, Hon. Yemi Akinwale ‘JP’ (Havana), and attended by executives and state coordinators of various presidential support groups.
The coalition said its members mobilised across the 33 local government areas, 351 wards and 6,390 polling units in Oyo State during the 2023 presidential election to campaign for Tinubu and the APC.
It, however, expressed concern that many coordinators, foot soldiers and support groups that participated in the campaign had, two years after the election, not been adequately engaged, recognised or integrated into governance and party administration processes.
Akinwale, in his opening speech, said the coalition was not seeking confrontation with the Presidency or the APC but wanted a structured relationship that would allow grassroots mobilisers to contribute to governance beyond election periods.
He said the groups had built structures at the grassroots that could be deployed to explain government policies, communicate programmes and provide feedback from communities to the authorities.
The coalition urged the Presidency and APC leadership to establish a framework for engaging the support groups, saying such a structure would strengthen communication and grassroots participation ahead of the 2027 elections.
‘Our message today is simple: we seek recognition, inclusion and engagement,’ he said.
‘We are not here to complain. We are not here to create division. We are not here to undermine the leadership of our party or the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
‘Rather, we are here to offer ourselves as partners who remain available and willing to contribute to the success of the administration.’
According to him, the support groups should not be regarded solely as election-time organisations because their members maintain relationships within communities and understand issues affecting people at the grassroots.
He said the structures could assist the government in communicating its policies and programmes, correcting misinformation and providing feedback from communities.
‘We believe that a government cannot effectively communicate its policies, programmes and achievements to the grassroots without engaging the structures and individuals who have established relationships within those communities,’ Akinwale said.
The coalition consequently appealed to Tinubu, the national leadership of the APC and relevant federal authorities, including the Office of the Special Adviser to the President on Political Matters, to create mechanisms for the inclusion of Oyo support groups in federal appointments, boards, empowerment programmes, palliative distribution and policy communication.
It also requested a formal meeting with Tinubu or any authority designated by him to present a proposed roadmap for using the coalition’s structures across the state for grassroots engagement.
The group said such an arrangement would enable its members to communicate the achievements of the administration, address misinformation and provide feedback from citizens while preparing the structures for the 2027 electoral cycle.
The coalition also announced plans to commence the immediate re-energisation of its structures across the wards and local governments, including door-to-door sensitisation on the policies and programmes of the Tinubu administration.
It reaffirmed its loyalty to Tinubu, First Lady Senator Oluremi Tinubu and the APC, while stressing that its request for inclusion was not an assertion of entitlement.
Akinwale said the coalition recognised the importance of competence, responsibility, discipline and due process in governance, adding that members who had demonstrated commitment and possessed the requisite capacity should be considered for appropriate opportunities.
‘Our position is that those who have demonstrated commitment and possess the requisite capacity should be given opportunities to contribute where appropriate,’ he said.
The coalition also commended what it described as reform initiatives of the Tinubu administration, citing foreign exchange reforms, the Nigeria Education Loan Fund (NELFUND), the Renewed Hope Infrastructure Development Fund and the Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) initiative.
It equally commended the Renewed Hope Initiative of the First Lady for interventions targeting women, youths and vulnerable Nigerians.
However, the coalition said the reported lack of engagement with grassroots support groups had affected the morale of some members and weakened structures that could otherwise assist in communicating government programmes at the community level.
Looking ahead to 2027, the coalition said its structures remained spread across the 33 local government areas, 351 wards and 6,390 polling units of the state, stressing that proper coordination and engagement could strengthen communication between the government and citizens.
It declared its readiness to support Tinubu’s 2027 campaign, saying it had the capacity to mobilise across the state if adequately engaged and supported.
The coalition concluded by describing its intervention as a call for partnership rather than opposition, insisting that it remained committed to Nigeria, Oyo State, the APC and the Renewed Hope administration.