Obasanjo’s Son Picks Side in 2027 Race

Olujonwo Obasanjo, son of former President Olusegun Obasanjo, has backed the re-election of President Bola Tinubu ahead of the 2027 presidential election.

He expressed his support after joining the Tinubu Movement for Sustainable Governance Foundation (TMS), popularly known as the “Tinubu Must Stay” movement, to promote the president’s re-election agenda.

Olujonwo said his decision to join the movement was informed by his longstanding association with the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and his belief in the need to sustain the policies and reforms introduced by the Tinubu administration.

He was formally received by the leadership of TMS at a forum in Abuja, where he expressed support for the government’s Renewed Hope Agenda and called for increased public awareness of its policies and achievements.

Olujonwo, who serves as president of the Buhari Youth Organisation (BYO) and Project One Nigeria, as well as Senior Special Assistant to the Ogun State Governor on Housing, said he had been associated with the APC since 2014.

Explaining his political background, he said he was familiar with the party’s formation and its relationship with key political figures, including his father, former President Obasanjo, the late President Muhammadu Buhari and President Tinubu.

“I have been in the APC since 2014. I was there when my father hosted the late President Muhammadu Buhari and President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to form the movement. I am not new to the party,” he said.

He argued that some of the policies and achievements of the Tinubu administration were not being adequately communicated to Nigerians, adding that misinformation had contributed to negative perceptions of the government.

Olujonwo cited developments in the education sector, infrastructure and access to student loans as areas he believed deserved greater public attention.

“There is a lot of noise out there, and people are distorting what is going on. ASUU has had no strikes. Students have access to loans. Nigeria has become a massive construction site and an investors’ haven again. These are things we need to promote,” he said.

His decision to join the movement comes as political parties and their supporters begin positioning themselves ahead of the 2027 general election, in which Tinubu is expected to seek another presidential term.

The move also places the son of the former president within a political platform established to defend the current administration’s policies and encourage public support for continuity in governance.

Welcoming Olujonwo to the movement, the National Coordinator of TMS and Director-General of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi, said his background gave him an understanding of the importance of economic reforms.

Inuwa drew a comparison between the economic reforms introduced during Olusegun Obasanjo’s administration and those being pursued by Tinubu, arguing that both periods involved policies intended to reshape Nigeria’s economy.

He cited telecommunications liberalisation and banking reforms under the elder Obasanjo as measures that helped establish the foundation for subsequent economic development.

“You grew up in a family that led the second wave of reforms in Nigeria. Telecommunications liberalisation, banking reforms—these laid a solid foundation. Being raised in that family, you understand what reforms mean,” Inuwa said.

He urged Nigerians to consider the long-term implications of government policies, warning that reversing ongoing reforms could undermine investor confidence and disrupt economic progress.

According to him, maintaining policy consistency would be important for attracting investment and sustaining developments in key sectors of the economy.

“We are building investors’ confidence. The naira is becoming strong. Our stock exchange is one of the fastest-growing. The Dangote Refinery is a game changer. If we start reversing these policies, we’ll go back to where we were,” Inuwa added.

Also speaking at the event, Marcel Ngogbehei, Director-General of TMS and a former coordinator of the Obidient Movement, praised the economic policies implemented during Obasanjo’s presidency.

Ngogbehei highlighted the former president’s role in securing debt relief for Nigeria and supporting the liberalisation of the telecommunications sector, describing those measures as important contributions to the country’s economic development.

He said TMS intended to promote discussions about government policies through evidence, research and public engagement rather than propaganda.

“We’re happy you have decided to take this step. Your father was one of those who revolutionised this country. The debt was paid off, and major innovations were introduced in liberalising the economy. This is not about propaganda. We will engage respectfully, factually and transparently,” Ngogbehei said.

The organisation said it had established structures across the country, including a Board of Trustees, national coordinators and specialised directorates, to support its activities.

It also plans to use digital platforms, virtual town hall meetings, policy research and fact-checking initiatives to promote the government’s policies and address what it considers misinformation about the administration.

Following Olujonwo’s reception, TMS announced plans to expand its engagement with professional associations, youth organisations and community groups across the country.

The planned activities are intended to increase public participation in governance and communicate the administration’s policies to Nigerians across different states and geopolitical zones.

Meanwhile, Olusegun Obasanjo has previously expressed concerns about Nigeria’s economic challenges, arguing that the country has sufficient natural and human resources to become prosperous.

In an interview on C-Suite Cafe, hosted by Ikem Okuhu, the former president questioned why Nigeria continued to struggle with poverty despite its agricultural potential, vast land, water resources and large population.

“Give me one reason why Nigeria should be poor. Is it the land that we don’t have or the desert that we are in or the people that we don’t have or the water that we don’t have or the rain that we don’t have?” he asked.

Obasanjo also criticised policies that encourage the importation of goods that could be produced locally, arguing that such practices discourage domestic farmers and undermine local production.

He recalled how restrictions on rice imports were introduced in 1979 to encourage domestic production, claiming that subsequent administrations reversed the policy and allowed imported rice to compete with locally produced varieties.

“When our successors came, one of the first things they did was to lift importation of rice, not to encourage production of rice but to encourage importation of rice, and the farmers couldn’t sell their own rice,” he said.

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