By Samuel Sunday
The Director-General of the City Boy Movement Worldwide, Hon. Francis Shoga Oluwatosin, has challenged members of the movement to turn its growing structure into grassroots action, declaring a target of 10 million active youth members and votes in support of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu ahead of the 2027 presidential election.
Shoga gave the charge on Thursday at the inauguration of the Ekiti State executive of the City Boy Movement in Ado-Ekiti at a town hall meeting and street engagement themed, “Leaving No One Behind.”
Shoga said the 10-million target was not a mere political claim but a goal tied to building an active network of Nigerian youths across the 36 states of the federation. He said the movement had been engaging young Nigerians and urged youths to stop remaining on the sidelines of politics. According to him, the City Boy Movement must move from structure to action by organising, informing and mobilising at the grassroots. He charged the newly inaugurated Ekiti executives to take the movement to communities, wards and polling units, saying the grassroots must remain their major concern.
The Director-General also called on members to speak with one voice and protect the political mandate they support, while urging them to use the movement as a platform for greater youth participation. He said the organisation had witnessed what he described as unprecedented youth mobilisation and maintained that young Nigerians must become active participants in determining their future. He further called on members to build the movement beyond ceremonies, saying its success would depend on what happens after the inauguration in communities across the state.
The Senior Special Assistant to the Ekiti State Governor on Research and Documentation, Dr Olufemi Owolabi, who served as guest speaker, said political inclusion would have little meaning if it did not reach ordinary citizens at the grassroots. Owolabi said politics was about people and described inclusion as “we,” urging young people to participate actively in politics rather than wait to become “leaders of tomorrow.” The Ekiti APC Chairman, Barrister Sola Elesin, also urged members to see political participation as a collective responsibility, citing the state government’s stated target of 700,000 votes for President Tinubu in 2027 and calling for stronger grassroots mobilisation.
The National Director of Student Engagement, Hon. Sunday Asefon, charged students to take the movement’s message to their colleagues on campuses and participate actively in its programmes, including membership registration and empowerment initiatives. The Speaker of the Ekiti State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Adeoye Aribasoye Stephen, represented at the event, said elections were largely determined at polling units and urged members to communicate the government’s programmes to the people. Senator Biodun Olujimi, who also attended, spoke on the importance of youth participation and urged members to counter misinformation with credible information and continue engaging the people.
The South-West Director-General, Hon. Olamijuwolo Akala, urged the new executives to see their inauguration as a call to greater responsibility, stressing the importance of taking the movement’s activities to the grassroots. He said political mobilisation had changed and required direct engagement with individuals and communities. Responding to journalists on how the APC could achieve the state’s 700,000-vote target, Akala emphasised door-to-door mobilisation and one-on-one engagement, urging members to return to their communities, wards and polling units to communicate the administration’s programmes. The Commissioner for Information, Hon. Taiwo Olatunbosun, commended the movement and encouraged its members to work with existing party structures.
The Ekiti Director of the City Boy Movement, Asiwaju Oluwafemi Kasali, said the organisation had established structures across all 16 local government areas with 354 coordinators, with a focus on reaching undecided voters and people who traditionally stay away from elections. He announced that membership registration would commence on October 1 and appreciated Governor Biodun Oyebanji for welcoming the movement to the state. The inauguration also featured the administration of oath to the newly appointed executives, presentation of certificates, and distribution of the movement’s handbook and code of conduct, with other dignitaries, including the representative of the Deputy Governor, Princess Adeboye Akinboye, Hon. Mary Oso and other political stakeholders, in attendance.
