• Hails Interior Minister’s humanitarian engagements

Over 3000 senior citizens in Ondo State have benefited from the free medical outreach designed to improve their health and wellbeing as well as to mobilise support for President Bola Tinubu’s re-election ahead of the 2027 general election.

The outreach, organised by the PBAT Mandate Elders Forum, a support group within the All Progressives Congress (APC), operates in phases across the state with the commitment to the welfare of the elderly in the state.

While emphasising that the initiative was part of an effort to mobilise grassroots support for Tinubu, the facilitator of the forum, Demola Ijabiyi, disclosed that the beneficiaries receive regular health checks and treatment for conditions like hypertension, diabetes, high cholesterol, and prostate issues.

Ijabiyi, who described the senior citizens as vital to the society, noted that the outreach was part of a larger strategy to harness the influence of respected elders in communities to strengthen political backing for Tinubu ahead of 2027.

According to him, the initiative was sponsored by the minister of interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, adding that the medical outreach started with about 500 beneficiaries and has grown to over 3,000 elders as well, enrolling new participants in stages.

“We usually gather to interact and strategise for the election of our president. During these events, we noticed that our elders needed help. Our sponsor, Minister of Interior Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, stepped in. Since then, we have been addressing different aspects of their health.

“We, the elders, cannot go out. We are not as mobile as the young ones. So, we have those young ones going about, and we are giving them background support. That’s why I was there with them yesterday. They know that their elders are here, and it gives them confidence that what they are doing is exactly what their elders are doing,” he stated.

Ijabiyi, who addressed the recent crisis that rocked the party in the state, disclosed that everyone has been reconciled following the intervention from the national leadership of the party.

“There’s no more faction. There’s no more faction in Ondo State. Now, let me tell you, before the Congress, we had some parallel Congresses. So, the national body intervened and reconciled the two groups, sharing the positions among us.

“So, there’s no more faction as far as the party executive is concerned and as far as the party structure is concerned in Ondo State. Those who are going to Abuja are representing all of us. They are not going to Abuja divided.”

On her part, the Assistant Secretary of the PBAT Mandate Elders Forum, Bukola Oluderu, described the health outreach as unprecedented, attributing its success to the minister’s leadership and alignment with Tinubu’s vision.

“I want to thank the President for all he has been doing for us. Ondo State had never had it this good. Since I joined politics years back. It’s been wonderful. My plea is for women. If you see what the President is doing, especially our mother Senator Oluremi Tinubu who is the better half of the President. She is doing wonderfully well for the women.”