10 Million Votes for Tinubu: City Boy Movement Unveils Bold 2027 Strategy

The City Boy Movement has unveiled an ambitious strategy to mobilise 10 million youth votes for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in the 2027 general election, declaring that the target would be achieved through sustained grassroots organisation, leadership development and civic engagement rather than campaign rhetoric.

The strategy was outlined as the Movement commenced its maiden National Retreat in Abuja on Monday, where members of its newly constituted National Working Committee and State Directors from the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory were formally sworn into office.

Writing in an opinion piece titled, “More Than a Retreat, A Generation Organises Itself… As City Boy Movement 2026 National Retreat Kicks Off,” O’tega Ogra, Deputy Director-General (Media, Communications & Public Affairs) of the City Boy Movement, said the retreat represented a deliberate effort to build enduring political institutions rather than temporary campaign structures.

According to Ogra, “There are moments in politics when speeches are enough, and there are moments when structures matter more than slogans.”

He noted that before the first strategy session began, the Movement had taken the unusual step of binding its leaders to its constitution through a formal oath of office, describing the move as a demonstration of commitment to institution-building.

“The Movement had done something Nigerian political organisations rarely do. It had bound its leadership to rules rather than personalities,” he wrote.

Ogra argued that Nigeria’s youthful population must move beyond being election-season campaigners to becoming active participants in governance, policy conversations, community development and democratic accountability.

He said the significance of the retreat extended beyond politics, stressing that “a generation that constitutes the majority of the country’s population cannot remain on the margins of political organisation, useful only as electoral foot soldiers.”

The article also highlighted remarks by the Movement’s Director-General, Hon. Francis Oluwatosin Shoga, who announced the target of delivering 10 million youth votes for President Tinubu in 2027.

According to Ogra, Shoga emphasised that the votes would not be secured through slogans or social media campaigns but through consistent grassroots mobilisation.

“Those votes, he argued, will not come from slogans or social media. They will come from sustained organisation, from wards, campuses, markets and communities, and from the patient, often unglamorous work of remaining present long after political excitement has faded,” Ogra wrote.

The presidential aide also referenced comments by the Movement’s Patron, Barr. Seyi Tinubu, who described the retreat as preparation for the future rather than a celebration of past electoral victories.

“The retreat was not a celebration of yesterday but a preparation for tomorrow,” Ogra quoted him as saying, adding that the organisation had evolved beyond a campaign platform into “a vehicle for citizen engagement and national development.”

Ogra further disclosed that delegates were urged to become communicators and educators capable of engaging Nigerians with facts and empathy, especially as economic reforms continue to impact citizens.

While acknowledging that sceptics may question the Movement’s proximity to government, he maintained that its emphasis on constitutional order, organisational structures and long-term civic engagement distinguished it from conventional campaign organisations.

He added that supporting the Renewed Hope Agenda required advocates who understood government policies and could explain difficult reforms while engaging criticism constructively.

According to him, the Movement also has a responsibility to ensure government policies produce tangible benefits for young Nigerians.

“A movement that seeks ten million votes also acquires the credibility to insist on results. Student loans must reach students. Skills programmes must produce real employment. Economic recovery must become tangible in the everyday lives of the young Nigerians being asked to defend it,” he stressed.

Ogra concluded that the true measure of the retreat would not be the speeches delivered during the three-day event but “the leaders it produces over the years ahead,” adding that “for movements, as for nations, the real work begins when the applause ends.”