City Boy Movement Targets One Million Votes for Tinubu in Ondo
By Olusegun HOSEA
The City Boy Movement in Ondo State has launched its mobilisation drive ahead of the 2027 general elections, setting a target of more than one million votes for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in the state.
The group announced the target during the inauguration of its state executives in Akure, where its State Director, Hon. Oluwafemi Ayejusunle, said the movement would strengthen its structures across the state’s 18 local government areas.
Ayejusunle said the group’s target was informed by what it described as the benefits Ondo State had received from the Tinubu administration through federal appointments, infrastructure projects and economic interventions.
He recalled that Ondo recorded the highest number of votes for Tinubu among states in the South-West during the 2023 presidential election, saying the group was seeking to build on that performance in 2027.
“Let us remember where we are coming from. In the 2023 presidential election, Ondo State delivered the highest number of votes for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in the entire South-West. We led, others followed.
“In 2027, we must not only repeat that historic feat, we must surpass it with over one million votes. Ondo State is ready,” he said.
Ayejusunle cited the appointments of Ondo indigenes to senior positions in the federal government as part of the reasons for the movement’s support for the administration.
He listed the Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo; Minister of Youth Development, Ayodele Olawande; and Chairman of the Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms, Taiwo Oyedele, among prominent officials from the state serving in the administration.
“The President has also compensated Ondo State adequately for that loyalty. No state in the South-West has been so honoured,” he said.
The movement’s director also listed several federal projects in the state, including the dualisation of the Ore-Ondo-Akure Road, Akure-Ado Ekiti Road, Ilesha-Akure-Benin Road and Owo-Benin Expressway.
He also mentioned the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway, which passes through Ilaje and Ese-Odo, as well as the approval of a Federal Teaching Hospital for the Federal University of Technology Akure (FUTA), the Aviation College, NELFUND student loans and an NDDC power project in Ondo South.
According to Ayejusunle, the group’s mobilisation strategy will focus on expanding its structures, grassroots engagement and sensitisation on the administration’s Renewed Hope Agenda.
“Our priorities are simple: strengthen structures across all 18 LGAs, intensify grassroots mobilisation for 2027, educate citizens on the Renewed Hope Agenda and build an unstoppable network for President Tinubu’s re-election,” he said.
He further said the movement expected more projects and interventions in the state if Tinubu secured another term, listing the completion of the Ondo Deep Sea Port and industrial park, road projects, efforts to address the Ayetoro sea incursion, youth empowerment programmes, agricultural support, housing and improved power supply.
Also speaking, the Ondo State Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Babatunde Kolawole, reaffirmed the party’s support for Tinubu and called for unity among members ahead of the 2027 elections.
Kolawole said the state government had continued to prioritise youth development and empowerment, describing young people as important stakeholders in governance and development.
The APC South-West Youth Leader, Adesuyi Daramola, also commended the Minister of Youth Development, Ayodele Olawande, for promoting youth participation in politics and governance.
Daramola said the mobilisation effort for the 2027 elections would involve youths, professionals and grassroots stakeholders across the South-West
