2027: Ogun PDP chieftain mobilises non-indigenes for Tinubu

The Ogun State chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party, Otunba Segun Showunmi addressing the non-indigenes on the need to support the re-election of President Bola Tinubu in 2027. Photo: Taiwo Bankole.

An Ogun State Peoples Democratic Party chieftain, Segun Showunmi, has urged non-indigene associations and hunters’ groups in Ogun State to support President Bola Tinubu’s re-election bid in the 2027 presidential election, describing the poll as an “election of liberation.”

Showunmi made the call on Saturday during a consultation with members of various non-indigene associations and hunters’ groups in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital.

He appealed to the groups to mobilise their members and ensure that their votes were cast for Tinubu, saying their support had been valuable to him and his political activities in the state.

He said, “This next election is the election that we are going to call the election of liberation. All the votes, let nobody sleep that day; all the votes must go to Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu. The objective should go beyond merely winning the election to securing a large margin of votes for President Tinubu. The 2027 election should also demonstrate the political strength of the South; political power must continue to rotate among the regions; hence, Tinubu must complete his 8-year tenure to deliver Nigeria.

“You see, my brothers from the South and my brothers from the North, we cannot balance this country if we don’t agree that when power goes North, it will stay North; when it comes South, it will come South. Our people have been very fair to the Igbos. The only thing remaining is that Presidency, but nobody can get Presidency by fighting every time, just calm down. The same way we are shouting now that we are begging you to get President Tinubu over the line, by Almighty God, until we carry an Igbo man and put him in that Villa and nothing is going to happen.

“The only way to do that is to use the 2027 election to make a very strong statement that nobody is more important than another person in this country. If our brother, President Bola Tinubu is not already in his first time doing something that we can see, we would have been saying a different thing, but right now we have gotten to the point where the election here must speak mightily.

“The population of human beings living in Lagos is more than the people living in some other places. There is no reason under heaven why they should come out to vote and those of you that are very educated, very enlightened, you will be pretending as if there is another job you have on election day.”

Showunmi, who described non-indigenes living in Ogun as an important part of the state’s social and economic development, said he had always regarded them as central to the shared prosperity of the state.

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He added, “I have come to beg you because I know that you are extremely reliable; I have come to beg you because I know you are extremely dependable; I have come to beg you because I know you are extremely trustworthy, and I have the assurance that all of you will troop out next year on the day of the presidential election to return President Bola Tinubu to continue his courageous reforms to take Nigeria to higher heights.”

Responding, the Chairman of the Non-Indigene Association of Ogun State (Egba Zone), Francis Nwanze, speaking on behalf of the groups, declared their support for Tinubu. Nwanze recalled that the group had enjoyed Showunmi’s support for its activities, including his payment of bills during their inaugurations.

He explained that the association was established 20 years ago, with coordinators across the 20 local government areas of the state, all of whom were represented at the event.

Nwanze reassured Showunmi that the group would support Tinubu whenever the need arose and would not hesitate to cast their votes for him.

The group comprises members of the Igbo, Igede, Tiv, Calabar and Edo associations, among others. On their part, the hunters’ associations also pledged their support for Tinubu and prayed for his victory.

Yusuf Alao, who spoke on behalf of the hunters, disclosed that the group comprised more than 1,000 hunters, assuring that they were all ready to support the re-election of President Tinubu in 2027.