Get Guardian on GoogleThe Minister of Innovation, Science and Technology, Dr Kingsley Udeh, (SAN) has inaugurated a political support group, As Tinubu and Mbah Move (ATM), with the sole aim to mobilise grassroots support for the re-election of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Enugu State Governor, Dr Peter Mbah, for the 2027 general elections.
Udeh, who announced this during the inauguration of the group’s leadership structures in Enugu, said the initiative was designed to mobilise supporters from the national, state, local government, ward and polling unit levels to sustain the achievements of the Tinubu and Mbah administrations.
He said the support group was motivated by the need to showcase the achievements of both leaders and mobilise Nigerians to support the continuation of their programmes, arguing that ongoing reforms required sufficient time to deliver their full benefits.
According to him, the administration of President Tinubu has recorded progress in various sectors of the economy, while Enugu State has witnessed significant transformation in infrastructure, education, healthcare and transportation under Governor Mbah.
Udeh cited the establishment of Smart Green Schools and Type-2 Primary Healthcare Centres across the state’s political wards, improvements in road infrastructure and the transformation of the transportation sector as some of the achievements that deserved sustained support.
He also highlighted the emergence of Enugu Air, which he said had expanded its operations beyond Nigeria and was preparing to commence its London route, describing the development as evidence of the state’s growing economic ambitions.
“You have to market your goods; you have to market your products. If you don’t market them, others may not market them for you. What we are presenting through this support group are the achievements that have impacted the lives of people at various levels,” he said.
The minister explained that the group would deploy science, technology and innovation in its membership drive, mobilisation and monitoring activities, adding that Enugu State would serve as the pilot state before the initiative was extended to other parts of the country, particularly the South-East.
He disclosed that the group was targeting 20 members in each polling unit across Enugu State, which has more than 4,000 polling units, as part of its strategy to build a formidable grassroots mobilisation structure ahead of the elections.
“I’m a scientific person, so it’s not just about claiming numbers. We are targeting 20 members in each polling unit. If you multiply 20 by the number of polling units we have in the state, that is the structure we want to deploy in Enugu,” Udeh said.
He further disclosed that membership registration would be conducted through an online portal, where interested persons would provide their details, including their Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs), and identify individuals who introduced them to the group.
Udeh said membership would be voluntary but accompanied by empowerment opportunities and other benefits, which would be targeted at registered and verified members.
He described the proposed empowerment arrangement as reward-based, explaining that members who recruited others would have their contributions documented through the registration platform and would be eligible for benefits under the group’s programme.
The minister, who donated 17 bosses for the mobilisation of members in the 17 LGAs in the state, however, clarified that the initiative was not primarily designed for existing members of the All Progressives Congress (APC), but to attract new supporters who were willing to identify with the re-election ambitions of Tinubu and Mbah.
“Our targets are those that are yet to join this moving train. We are happy with our existing APC members, but we want more people who are willing to support what we are doing, take advantage of our empowerment programmes and be mentored in leadership,” he said.
He added that the support group would remain active beyond the 2027 elections, insisting that its activities would not be limited to political mobilisation but would also include human capacity development, empowerment and leadership mentoring.
Udeh, who described Mbah as a national political leader, said the governor’s position as the South-East coordinator of the presidential campaign council for Tinubu informed his inclusion in the group’s name.
He also noted that the Enugu governor was the grand patron of the organisation and would formally inaugurate and launch its activities.
Reacting to questions about the growing political mobilisation of opposition groups in the South-East, Udeh said the ATM initiative was driven by what he described as the need to protect the political and economic interests of the Igbo people.
He argued that political decisions should be guided by interests and an assessment of the potential benefits to the people rather than sentiments.
“Politics is about interests. It is also about making the right judgments so that you can align yourself with where you can derive benefits. It is not about sentiments; it is about interest for today and interest for the future,” he said.
The minister further dismissed suggestions that the Igbo people lacked sufficient PVCs to influence the outcome of national elections, maintaining that the South-East had a substantial number of registered voters whose participation could strengthen the region’s political relevance.
He said although more eligible residents needed to register, the existing number of registered voters across the five South-East states was sufficient to make a significant impact if they turned out massively during elections.
According to him, the political alignment of the South-East states also presented an opportunity for the region to strengthen its participation in national decision-making.
Udeh urged residents of Enugu State and other interested Nigerians to register with the support group through its online platform, expressing confidence that the initiative would expand beyond the state and become a major grassroots mobilisation structure for the re-election of Tinubu and Mbah.
