2027: Ogun PDP chieftain backs Tinubu’s re-election, urges South-West support - Punch Newspapers

Ogun State PDP chieftain and convener of The Alternative Movement, Otunba Segun Showunmi, has declared his support for President Bola Tinubu’s re-election bid in the 2027 presidential election. Showunmi said the country needed policy continuity and sufficient time for the government to implement its economic programmes, arguing that frequent changes in leadership could disrupt long-term development. The PDP chieftain spoke on Saturday in the Itoko area of Abeokuta while addressing his supporters in the state and urging them to commence grassroots mobilisation for Tinubu ahead of the 2027 election. He explained, “I believe that for us to be able to make this country a great nation, and for us to journey together, we must respect the principle of the pendulum. “If it is the time of another protectorate, they should bring us a candidate we’ll take. If it is the time of the Southern protectorate, they should give us a candidate we’ll take. “Now, we believe that we cannot be changing leadership every four years. Democracy is very difficult, and the ability to be able to even run policy requires a bit of time.” The PDP leader urged his supporters to commence mobilisation from the polling-unit level, saying he would subsequently expand the structure across the six local government areas of Ogun Central. “I’ve told them to enter the polling unit and start the polling-unit work. And maybe next week or whenever they come, I’m coming to build the local government one. Thereafter, I’m going to go to each of the six local governments in Ogun Central,” he said.See more Punch stories on Google.Add Punch on Google Showunmi also said he would take his political structure to Ijebu and register it with the Peoples Democratic Party structure led in the state by Hon. Oladipupo Adebutu, the party’s governorship candidate, while advocating support for Tinubu. “Certainly, without a doubt, I will enter Ijebu and bring my very massive and humongous structure that PDP, especially under the leadership and inspiration of Chief Oladipupo Adebutu, the son of Baba Ijebu, we’ll go and register that structure and tell them that it has to be Bola Tinubu and nothing else,” he said. Showunmi dismissed the prospects of alternative presidential contenders from the South-West in 2027, arguing that the presidency should remain with Tinubu for the current political cycle. He said, “Anybody, especially from the Yoruba nation, who is calling himself anything when the sun is out is wasting his time. Nigerians will witness drop in transportation costs from October 1, Tinubu insists Meet two women on 2027 presidential ballot challenging Tinubu, Atiku, Obi Niger miners’ deaths: Full list of 20 NSCDC officers suspended “This election is Bola Tinubu’s election to win.” Showunmi urged Yoruba voters to mobilise support for Tinubu, warning that the region could lose political influence if other regions produced higher numbers of votes for the President. “I have come home to beg my people, Yoruba people, that you will not be ashamed. Because when the election is over, and the people of North-East, and the people of North-West, and the people of North-Central produce more votes than you, then where will you put your face?” he asked. He recalled the 1999 and 2003 elections, saying the political fortunes of former President Olusegun Obasanjo changed significantly between the two elections. “Therefore, it is time to work now. We are back to 2003. You did not give Obasanjo significant numbers in 1999, but by 2003, everything belonged to him,” Showunmi said. Describing himself as a grassroots politician, he said political mobilisation should not be limited to social media and television appearances. “We are not social media politicians. We are not television politicians. I am a grassroots politician through and through,” he said. Showunmi also defended the Tinubu administration’s economic direction, saying the government’s policies should be given time to produce results. He said, “We cannot run a nation on an agenda that the country will not have money. If you don’t have money, what will you even be able to do? “Now you have gotten to the point where there’s money in the local government, there’s money in the state, there’s money in the federal.” He further criticised calls for a return to fuel subsidy, arguing that Nigeria had experimented with subsidy policies for decades without achieving the desired results. “We have tried subsidies in this country; we started studying it from 1973, and between 1973 and date, we have seen the results. If it had worked, wouldn’t we have seen it?” he queried. Taiwo Bankole

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