Get Guardian on GoogleThe South West Agenda for Asiwaju (SWAGA) has unveiled plans to strengthen grassroots mobilisation across Lagos State in support of President Bola Tinubu’s re-election bid in 2027.
The group said it would establish stronger structures across the state’s local councils, wards and polling units as part of efforts to mobilise support for the President and promote the policies of his administration.
The Lagos chapter of SWAGA disclosed this on Wednesday during a press conference addressed by the Chairman of its Media Committee, Lanre Odubote, ahead of its formal inauguration scheduled for Friday, November 13, at the Blue Roof, Lagos Television, Agidingbi, Ikeja.
Odubote said the inauguration would mark a renewed effort to reposition the movement, expand its organisational capacity and strengthen its engagement with residents and political stakeholders.
He explained that the group’s activities would be driven by four major pillars: mobilisation, advocacy, unity and service.
According to him, SWAGA intends to mobilise Nigerians, particularly in the South-West, promote public understanding of government policies, strengthen political cohesion within the region and complement government efforts through community-based interventions.
He said the movement was established to promote Tinubu’s political philosophy, leadership experience and developmental vision, adding that its responsibility had evolved beyond electoral mobilisation to include policy advocacy and public enlightenment.
Odubote said the forthcoming inauguration would also provide an opportunity to unveil the Lagos chapter’s leadership and organisational structure, present its strategic action plan and inaugurate local government and ward coordinators.
He, however, stressed that the group had no intention of competing with the All Progressives Congress (APC) or establishing parallel political structures.
“Rather, we intend to complement the party’s existing machinery, strengthen its mobilisation capacity and contribute meaningfully to the achievement of our shared political objectives,” he said.
Speaking at the event, a former Chairman of Lagos Island Local Government, Kamal Basua, defended the economic reforms of the Tinubu administration, describing the current difficulties as part of the process of laying a foundation for sustainable economic growth.
Basua acknowledged the challenges associated with accessing foreign exchange, the depreciation of the naira and the state of infrastructure, particularly roads across the South-West.
He, however, argued that the reforms would eventually yield benefits, urging Nigerians to support Tinubu’s re-election to enable him to consolidate on the Renewed Hope Agenda.
He said, “For the economy to grow, there must be a foundation, and that foundation is what President Tinubu is laying. There will be gain without pain, and that phase is what we are currently undergoing.”
Also speaking, the Commissioner of the Lagos State Local Government Service Commission, Princess Dr Folashade Olabanji-Oba, said the APC had learnt lessons from its experience in the 2023 general elections and was developing strategies to address challenges ahead of the next polls.
She said the party was working to harmonise its activities and tackle voter apathy, adding that its mobilisation efforts would be coordinated through established party structures.
“The party in Lagos State has the capacity to harmonise all the activities of the party. Ours is to deploy the strategies and not to divulge them to the public.
“I can tell you that the lessons of the loss of the 2023 election have been learnt, and we have strategies to rewrite the history. Our party at the national and state levels is doing everything possible to curb voter apathy,” she said.
A SWAGA chieftain, Folami Ismail, said the movement would concentrate on grassroots mobilisation across the South-West, noting that political participation and electoral outcomes were influenced by voter numbers.
He said the group would mobilise support for Tinubu’s re-election while promoting the administration’s reform agenda.
According to him, the movement would engage communities and different segments of society to strengthen support for the President ahead of the 2027 elections.
SWAGA originated as a political mobilisation platform established to support Tinubu’s presidential ambition ahead of the 2023 general elections.
The movement was convened by a former member of the House of Representatives, Hon. Oyetunde Ojo, and subsequently developed into a structured political organisation under the national chairmanship of Senator Dayo Adeyeye, with Hon. Bosun Oladele as National Secretary.
