Ahead of the 2027 general elections, the Minister of Youth Development, Comrade Ayodele Olawande, is driving the most organic and structured youth mobilisation for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
This was made known in a statement by the Publicity Secretary of the City Boy Movement in Ondo State, Mr. Dayo Joseph.
According to Joseph, at the heart of the mobilisation is the City Boy Movement, now the largest pro-Tinubu youth political movement in Africa, which Olawande is leveraging to convert the Renewed Hope Agenda from a slogan into a grassroots movement.
He said the Minister has built disciplined structures for the movement across states, local governments, wards, markets and campuses, with a mandate to take the administration’s message to every home and sensitise Nigerians to key reforms such as the Nigerian Education Loan Fund, NELFUND.
Joseph noted that the movement has set an ambitious target of delivering 10 million youth votes for President Tinubu in 2027, driven by direct community engagement rather than social media rhetoric.
He added that the initiative is also aimed at bridging the gap between government and young Nigerians and moving youths from political observers to active participants in governance.
Beyond politics, the Publicity Secretary said Olawande is using performance in office as his most effective mobilisation tool.
‘Under his watch, the Nigerian Youth Investment Fund was expanded from N75 billion to N110 billion to support young entrepreneurs, 20 vocational centres were established nationwide, and the Nigerian Youth Academy was launched to train over 10,000 youths in ICT and other vocational skills,’ Joseph stated.
He listed other interventions to include an AI-powered Youth Help Desk on WhatsApp for verified jobs and mentorship, the Corpreneur Support Scheme for corps members, the Grassroots Youth Entrepreneurship Support Scheme for rural businesses, the Young and Secure Initiative with the Ministry of Police Affairs to curb youth harassment, the Electric Tricycle Empowerment Initiative for self-employment, and a partnership with IITA and NALDA to engage 100,000 youths in agribusiness.
Joseph said Olawande has shown that mobilisation is not noise-making, but proving that government can build hope through systems, platforms and skills.