A group campaigning for the reelection of President Bola Tinubu under the auspices of the Asiwaju Mandate Group (AMG) has inaugurated a new secretariat in Akure, the Ondo State capital, for easy coordination of the activities of the group.
Also, the AMG inaugurated more than 2,000 ward executives across the state to woo voters for the reelection of President Tinubu.
The event, which attracted a large turnout of party loyalists, cultural troupes, and political associates, was described by the organisers 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, Asiwaju Muyiwa Asagunla, said the new edifice would serve not as the state secretariat alone 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, signalling a nationwide expansion.
Asagunla explained that the group’s decision to throw its weight behind President Tinubu was anchored on the president’s courage to remove fuel subsidy immediately after assuming office.
The Director General recalled that even rival presidential candidates had campaigned on the promise to end subsidies, describing it as a system that had enriched only a few powerful individuals.
He maintained that within just two years, signs of improvement were already visible and urged Nigerians to give the Renewed Hope Agenda more time to yield greater results.
He, however, stressed that AMG’s activities were not about early campaigning but about sensitising people to take advantage of government policies.
His words, “Today, we are commissioning this office, this edifice as a state secretariat, and by God’s grace it will be the national secretariat of the Asiwaju Mandate Group. Why I said that is because AMG is in Osun State, in Ekiti State, and we have groups that are ready to take up in Lagos State. So, it is going to be a national headquarters.
”If you remember very well, those who campaigned along with Tinubu, who wanted to be president, all of them said they would remove the subsidy. Why is it that all of them said it? It means there was an evil in that subsidy. The first day he came on board, that evil called the oil subsidy was removed.
”Initially, things went awry. Garri was sold for about N1,200 per congo, rice was sold for N1,500 per congo, petrol was being sold for between N1,200 and N1,700, but now, how much are we selling petrol? How much are we selling a congo of rice?
It means things are getting better in Nigeria. If, within this short time of two years, things are getting better, then we should let the government of Bola Tinubu, the Renewed Hope Agenda, continue.
“What we are doing now is not campaigning. We are sensitising people about the policies that touch the lives of the downtrodden. If you know about them, you will benefit from them, and when you do, you will tell others. By God’s grace, you won’t need anyone to beg you to vote for Asiwaju when the time comes.”
Addressing the gathering, the group’s Director of Special Duties, Balajobi Babatunde, said the commissioning was inspired by the Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, who encouraged the group not to wait passively but to take visible steps in support of the president’s vision.
Babatunde revealed that the inaugurated executives were selected from the 203 wards in the state.
He said, ”By the special grace of God, we have 203 wards in Ondo State, and we are inaugurating 10 executives from each ward. By extension, we are inaugurating 2,030 of them. As you can see, the mammoth crowd really turned up just to show their support for our dear president.”
On whether AMG was competing with other Tinubu support groups, the Director of Special Duties dismissed the suggestion, noting that their work was complementary.
He added, “We believe we are not working at cross purposes; we are working to champion a common cause, which is the actualisation of the vision of our dear father, in continuity. Although this is not a period of campaign, we are not here to campaign.
“For now, we just want to disseminate information and let people know what we stand for. We are not in competition with any of those groups.”
