The First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, has inaugurated the All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential Women Campaign Council, urging its members to mobilise voters nationwide for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s re-election and the victory of other party candidates in the 2027 general elections.
Speaking at the inauguration in Abuja on Monday, she said the council would bring previously separate women’s support groups under one structure to coordinate campaigns nationwide.
The event, held at the Bola Ahmed Tinubu International Conference Centre, brought together women from the party’s leadership, government and support organisations.
“We have collapsed every other women’s support group into one — from Tinubu Again, Torch Bearers, etc. What you will see on the ballot box is APC. We’re here to promote APC, nothing less,” she said.
The First Lady explained that the council’s assignment would cover the presidential, governorship, National Assembly and State Houses of Assembly elections.
She announced plans for six zonal mega rallies, state rallies and a grand finale in Abuja. She and the wife of the Vice President, Hajiya Nana Shettima, would participate in the zonal campaigns alongside other party leaders.
The wives of the Senate President and Speaker of the House of Representatives, as well as the chairperson of the Nigeria Governors’ Spouses Forum, would represent her at the state rallies.
Urging women to support President Tinubu for a second term, she said the administration’s reforms were beginning to yield benefits, citing economic stabilisation, declining inflation, growing foreign reserves, renewed investor interest, agricultural support and access to student loans.
“The theme of this year’s rally, Renewed Hope Agenda 2.0: From Reforms to Prosperity, is not just a slogan. It is our reality,” she said.
She asked council members to explain the administration’s programmes and achievements to voters in their states, describing the President as a leader prepared to make difficult decisions in the national interest.
“Tell everyone as you go back to your various states that you have a leader who is bold enough to take difficult decisions in the beginning. He is a leader who can be trusted to lead us into prosperity,” she said.
The First Lady thanked women for supporting the administration and urged them to translate that support into votes.
“Let us show the world that Nigerian women have spoken and we speak with one voice, that we vote APC again so that the solid foundation laid can be built upon,” she said.
APC National Women Leader, Mary Alile Idele, said the council must connect government programmes with the people they were intended to benefit.
She said the party’s women leadership would strengthen its ward and local government networks, identify women needing assistance and link them with available empowerment opportunities.
“We must move from mobilisation to measurable actions with clear responsibility, grassroots structure, regular engagement and accountable results,” she said.
Speaking on behalf of female ministers, Minister of Women Affairs and Social Development Imaan Sulaiman-Ibrahim urged members to work together to ensure the administration’s reforms produced tangible improvements in Nigerians’ lives.
She commended what she described as the government’s attention to women’s economic empowerment, food security and social protection, alongside efforts to review outdated policies and laws affecting children and families.
She pledged to mobilise households and wards to local governments and states to secure support for the President.
The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Sustainable Development Goals, Princess Adejoke Orelope-Adefulire, challenged each participant to recruit at least 100 women for the APC.
Speaking on behalf of female presidential aides, she urged members to resolve differences that could hinder their work and extend the campaign to their neighbourhoods.
“We don’t want to leave any woman behind. So everyone go back to our community and mobilise 100 women,” she said.
Senator Abdulaziz Yari, the Director-General of the Presidential Campaign Council, said the turnout demonstrated women’s readiness to drive the party’s campaign.
He pledged the council’s support and urged participants to turn their mobilisation efforts into votes in 2027.
The First Lady of Kwara State and chairperson of the Nigeria Governors’ Spouses Forum, Ambassador Olufolake Abdulrazaq, said governors’ wives were ready to participate in the state and zonal campaigns.
She cited interventions under the Renewed Hope Initiative for women, older persons, young people and persons with disabilities, saying governors’ spouses had witnessed their impact across the country.
She said delegates drawn from the 36 states and 774 local government areas would help extend the party’s mobilisation efforts nationwide.
Hajiya Nana Shettima also urged participants to explain the administration’s programmes to people in their localities. She highlighted the Renewed Hope Initiative’s support for students, women, older persons and persons with disabilities, calling for electoral support for President Tinubu in 2027.
The wife of the Senate President, Mrs Ekaette Akpabio, rallied participants behind the President’s re-election bid and led senators’ wives in a campaign song.
Her counterpart in the House of Representatives, Hajiya Fatima Abbas, said lawmakers’ wives were prepared to mobilise 20,000 women in each of their respective constituencies.
Director-General of the National Identity Management Commission, Bisoye Coker-Odusote, speaking on behalf of 40 female chief executives appointed by the President, commended his appointment of women to leadership positions.
She urged women to mobilise voters while seeking greater representation at federal and state levels.
