‘Tinubu Must Stay’ Chants Fill Jigawa as NITDA DG Leads Mobilisation

Supporters of President Bola Tinubu in Jigawa State have rallied behind his anticipated 2027 re-election bid, chanting “Tinubu Must Stay” as the Director-General of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi, led a grassroots mobilisation campaign.

The rally took place in Garun Gabas Ward, Malam Madori Local Government Area, where Abdullahi inaugurated a campaign office for the Tinubu Movement for Sustainable Governance Foundation (TMS), popularly known as the Tinubu Must Stay Movement.

The event attracted All Progressives Congress (APC) chieftains, community leaders, women, youths and other supporters. Some members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and National Democratic Congress (NDC) also used the occasion to announce their defection to the APC.

Abdullahi, who chairs the TMS Board of Trustees and serves as its National Coordinator, said the movement was expanding its grassroots structures to promote awareness of the administration’s policies and mobilise support for Tinubu.

He said the group would take the President’s reform agenda to communities, particularly its focus on economic diversification and inclusive growth.

According to him, the administration’s interventions in education, agriculture, food security, national security, digital literacy and healthcare are aimed at stimulating economic growth and improving livelihoods.

Abdullahi cited South Korea, Singapore, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Malaysia as examples of countries that have pursued sustained reforms to advance their economies. He argued that Nigeria also needed policy consistency to achieve meaningful development.

He urged residents to support Tinubu’s return to office in 2027, saying continuity would help sustain the administration’s development agenda.

The NITDA director-general also announced plans to empower 200 more women in Garun Gabas Ward through the movement’s community intervention programmes.

He said the initiative would complement previous empowerment exercises across Jigawa, including a recent programme in Hadejia. Beneficiaries received financial assistance, sewing machines, bakery equipment and agricultural inputs to support small businesses and household incomes.

Abdullahi said the movement would sustain its support for vulnerable groups, particularly women, youths, children and persons with disabilities, through economic empowerment and educational assistance.

The rally also provided a platform for defectors from the PDP and NDC to join the APC. The new members, received by Abdullahi and local party leaders, said development projects in their communities influenced their decision.

They specifically cited interventions facilitated through NITDA, which they said had strengthened their confidence in the administration’s development agenda.

The APC Chairman in Malam Madori Local Government Area, Alhaji Tanko Ahmad, commended Abdullahi for facilitating digital infrastructure projects that have widened educational opportunities for young people.

He highlighted the Information and Communication Technology Development Centre at Government Secondary School, Garun Gabas, saying the facility had improved students’ access to digital skills.

Ahmad pledged the support of party structures in the area for the movement’s mobilisation activities ahead of the 2027 elections.

“The TMS Movement has secured a permanent place in Garun Gabas,” he said.

The movement’s convener in Garun Gabas, Engineer Hashim Suleiman, described the turnout as a sign of local support for the initiative.

He said the movement began its activities in the United Kingdom before its formal launch in Abuja and subsequent expansion into communities across Nigeria.

Suleiman said the inauguration marked the beginning of further grassroots engagements. He also urged beneficiaries of the empowerment programmes to use the assistance to establish sustainable businesses and improve their economic independence.

The ceremony ended with the presentation of an Award of Recognition to Abdullahi by the TMS leadership in Garun Gabas. The organisers said the award acknowledged his contributions to digital infrastructure development and grassroots engagement.

The movement said it planned to open more structures across Jigawa and other parts of the country as it intensifies political sensitisation, community engagement and empowerment programmes.