The First Lady of Nigeria, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, has urged women in Oyo State to support the All Progressives Congress (APC) and align the state with the Federal Government ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Mrs Tinubu made the call at the APC/Tinubu Torchbearers Women Rally held at the Obafemi Awolowo Stadium in Ibadan.
Highlighting the administration’s focus on women’s economic empowerment, child protection and support for vulnerable Nigerians, the First Lady said that since the inauguration of the President Bola Tinubu-led administration three years ago, the Renewed Hope Initiative had continued to provide support to Nigerians and would not stop.
“Oyo State is not a pacesetter state for no reason. Oyo State is about to align with the centre,” she said.
She assured the women that economic empowerment remained central to the administration’s agenda, saying President Bola Tinubu had given unprecedented priority to women, children and vulnerable Nigerians.
“I would like to assure you that Mr President is not only a HeForShe, but women’s economic empowerment is in his DNA. No president in the history of Nigeria has given women such priority. No president in the history of Nigeria has prioritised child protection and child development. No president in the history of Nigeria has prioritised vulnerable people,” she said.
Represented by the Minister of Women Affairs and Social Development, Imaan Sulaiman-Ibrahim, the First Lady also underscored the administration’s commitment to inclusion, citing the presence of persons with disabilities at the rally.
“When I came in, I saw a section with persons with disabilities. It shows that they recognise that Mr President is for them,” she said.
Sulaiman-Ibrahim, who represented the First Lady, also conveyed her solidarity with the people of Oyo State, describing Ibadan as her home and expressing confidence in their support for the APC and President Tinubu.
“She is with the people of Oyo State. Ibadan is her home, and she knows that you are going to support the APC. She knows that you are going to support Mr President,” the Minister said.
Sulaiman-Ibrahim said policies under the Tinubu administration were translating into tangible impacts.
“Under the watch of the President and with support from our mother, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, policies are translating into real-time impacts,” she said.
The Minister cited infrastructure development and ongoing reforms, particularly work on the East-West Road, as evidence of the administration’s progress, noting that “by the time these reforms finish taking shape, Nigeria will be one of the greatest countries in the world.”
She said the administration would sustain its reform agenda, declaring: “And I can assure you that under Mr President’s watch, we are not only going to renew hope, we will also restore confidence. We’ll hand over to our children a banner without stain.”
The First Lady further highlighted women’s growing political representation in Oyo State, noting that the state had produced a female senator for the first time, alongside two female members of the House of Representatives and two members of the State House of Assembly.
She also said market women had benefited from the administration’s empowerment interventions.
“Mr President has empowered the market women with cash support,” she said.
The Minister subsequently inaugurated the Tinubu Torchbearers for Oyo State and the South-West, charging members to translate the Renewed Hope agenda into grassroots mobilisation.
“We are going to bring them into this folder, person by person, PVC by PVC,” she said.
Earlier, while commissioning the Tinubu Torchbearers Secretariat in Ibadan on behalf of the First Lady, Sulaiman-Ibrahim said the facility would work to “re-elect our president, His Excellency President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, and to elect Senator Sharafadeen as the Governor of Oyo State, and also deliver all our APC candidates in Oyo State”.
Speaking at the rally, the APC Oyo State governorship flagbearer, Senator Sharafadeen Alli, thanked President Tinubu and other party leaders for their support, assuring the people of Oyo State that he would provide good governance if elected governor.
Alli urged APC members and supporters to remain united and work collectively to secure victory for the party in 2027.
The APC National Women Leader, Hon. Mary Alile Idele, described the rally as the beginning of intensified grassroots mobilisation.
“Our message must reach the grassroots,” she said, urging members to go “door-to-door, street-to-street and community-to-community”.
She declared: “The Torch is lit. The women are ready. The grassroots are mobilised. The Renewed Hope is alive.”
Also speaking, the APC Deputy National Women Leader, Hajia Zainab Abubakar Ibrahim, and Mrs Ginika Tor urged Oyo residents to support and vote massively for APC candidates in the forthcoming elections.
The rally attracted APC supporters, party members and stakeholders from across the state, including Alli’s deputy governorship candidate, Adesoji Adedeji, and other APC chieftains.
