…Vows sensitisation, mobilisation of electorate

…Hails Tunji-Ojo’s impact in Ondo APC

A pro-Tinubu support group within the All Progressives Congress (APC), the Asiwaju Mandate Group (AMG), has called for penalties to discourage voter apathy, arguing that low voter turnout remains a challenge to democratic participation in Nigeria.

While urging citizens to actively participate in elections, the group stressed the need for sustained grassroots mobilisation ahead of the 2027 general elections.

According to the Director-General of the group, Olumuyiwa Asagunla, who stated this during a stakeholders meeting in Akure, Ondo State capital, the state has close to two million registered voters, yet a large percentage of eligible voters consistently fail to participate in elections.

Olumuyiwa said support groups such as AMG have become necessary to sensitise citizens, including traders, youths, students, artisans, labour unions and transport workers, on the importance of exercising their civic responsibility.

Olumuyiwa described AMG as a grassroots-based political support group established to mobilise support for the President Bola Tinubu and ensure more participation in the electoral process,

The Director-General added that the the group has intensified efforts on voter education and mobilisation efforts across the state.

He said, “I still want to reiterate on that law introduced during the Buhari administration that there should be some form of penalty attached to electoral apathy, whether for not collecting a voter’s card or not participating in elections,” he said.

“One of the reasons why we encourage our people to participate, whether Christian or Muslim, is that if you don’t participate and don’t vote for somebody, you may continue to regret that you did not cast your vote.”

On his part, a former Senator and APC leader in the state, Yele Omogunwa alleged that governance in Ondo State had failed to accommodate critical stakeholders, a situation he said had created dissatisfaction among many party members and supporters.

Omogunwa, however, commended the Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, for providing a platform that accommodates youths, women, artisans and the elderly through AMG

Also speaking, a former Commissioner in the state, Sholagbade Amodeni credited Tunji-Ojo with sustaining the APC’s grassroots structures in the state.

Amodeni stressed that the party would have struggled without the Minister’s intervention and leadership.

He further alleged that many local party structures had become inactive, insisting that support groups such as AMG had played a major role in sustaining political engagement across the state.