The Makinde/Daura Presidential Campaign Organisation has directed its state coordinators to begin the recruitment of house-to-house canvassers and polling unit agents as it intensifies preparations for the 2027 presidential election.
The organisation gave the directive at the inauguration of its North Central zonal state coordinators, where its Director-General, Felix Hyat, charged the coordinators to take the campaign to every household and polling unit across the region.
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Mr Hyat said the campaign must be built from the grassroots, beginning from polling units and wards before expanding to local government, state and national structures.
“This journey begins at the polling units and moves to the ward headquarters, local government headquarters, state headquarters and, ultimately, the national level. Politics is local, and our work must be localised,” he said.
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He said the coordinators had been entrusted with the responsibility of taking the message of the organisation’s presidential candidate, Seyi Makinde, to voters across the country.
“Our mandate is to go to where the people are and share the most important product we have in Nigerian politics today: our presidential candidate, Governor Seyi Makinde,” Mr Hyat said.
Hyat attacks Tinubu over political control
Mr Hyat also criticised Mr Tinubu, accusing his administration of concentrating political power at the expense of accountability to Nigerians.
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He said elected representatives should remain accountable to the people who voted for them rather than claim to operate solely on the mandate of the president.
“If our representatives, who are answerable to the people who elected them, now claim to stand on President Tinubu’s mandate, they should remember that it was the people who gave them their votes,” he said.
“Whose mandate, then, are they supposed to stand on?”
Mr Hyat alleged that lawmakers had abandoned their responsibility to Nigerians by concentrating on supporting the president.
He said the campaign would take that message to voters ahead of the election.
“We must tell them that these representatives have abandoned them. I am sure they did not abandon the people without a reason. If they abandoned them for something, let them disclose what that is so that the people can make informed decisions,” he said.
He also criticised what he described as claims by the president that he controlled the political space, saying such a situation should be challenged.
Mr Hyat said the campaign would rely on grassroots mobilisation to counter the influence of the incumbent government.
Campaign says election will be won at polling units
Mr Hyat stressed the importance of polling unit agents, saying their performance could determine the outcome of the election.
“Elections are fought, won and lost at the polling units. Our polling unit managers and agents can determine our fate,” he said.
He warned the campaign against appointing agents who lacked the capacity to protect its interests during the election.
“If I know that an agent can determine my fate, I must also be careful about the kind of agent I appoint. If I appoint an agent who is not capable of doing the job, I should not be surprised by the outcome,” he said.
The campaign’s plan to recruit agents therefore forms part of a broader effort to establish its presence at polling units ahead of the 2027 election.
Mr Hyat also urged the coordinators to work closely with the party’s structures and candidates, stressing that the presidential campaign could not operate in isolation from the political party.
He said state party chairmen remained important to the campaign and should be respected, while candidates at various levels would also play a central role in delivering the party’s mandate.
He called for unity among party officials, candidates and campaign organisers.
“That unity can only be actualised if we integrate with one another and move together as a bloc,” he said.
Campaign sets January 2027 target
Mr Hyat urged the coordinators to intensify their activities, saying the campaign had limited time before the election.
“We are racing against time,” he said, urging the coordinators to make sacrifices and remain committed to the campaign.
He said the coordinators should take the Makinde message to their respective communities and ensure that the candidate’s name became known across the North Central and the country.
“I will return to my village and take the message there, and each and every one of us must do the same. That is our responsibility,” he said.
He also urged the coordinators to resolve disagreements through dialogue rather than allow internal disputes to undermine the campaign.
“Whatever the challenges, we can surmount them and overcome them through dialogue. Let me assure you that we are available at all times,” he said.
The campaign’s Deputy Director of Operations, Tony Aziegbemi, described the newly inaugurated state directors as “field commanders,” saying they would be responsible for taking the campaign’s message to households across Nigeria.
He said the campaign’s message would focus on four areas: the economy, education, security and the country’s socio-political system.
Mr Aziegbemi also directed the state directors to immediately begin compiling a list of house-to-house canvassers for the campaign and polling unit agents.
He said the directors had two weeks to complete both exercises, after which the campaign organisation would review the lists.
“The state directors are mandated to commence the compilation of the Makinde/Daura house-to-house canvassers,” he said.
“Alongside that, you are directed to immediately commence the compilation of polling unit agents. You also have two weeks to complete that exercise.”
The directive comes as political parties and their candidates intensify grassroots mobilisation ahead of the 2027 general election, with the campaign organisation seeking to build a network capable of reaching voters directly and protecting its interests at polling units.
Campaign attacks Tinubu administration over poverty
Mr Aziegbemi used the occasion to attack the administration of President Bola Tinubu, accusing it of worsening poverty through its economic policies.
He cited a figure of 35 million Nigerians going to bed hungry every night, attributing the figure to the National Bureau of Statistics.
He blamed the situation on the removal of fuel subsidy and the floating of the naira, arguing that the government failed to adequately prepare for the effects of the policies.
“You cannot wake up and just say, ‘I have removed subsidy,’ and then float the naira. Every price in this country went up,” he said.
“That ought to have been expected. You needed to think things through and mitigate against those events that would inevitably arise. But they did not do that.”
He said the Makinde/Daura campaign would target Nigerians affected by economic hardship with a promise of a different approach under a government led by Mr Makinde.
“We promise that we will put food on their tables. We promise that they will never go to bed hungry under the Makinde/Daura presidency,” Mr Aziegbemi said.
He said the campaign was particularly targeting Nigerians who had been pushed into hardship despite being willing to work.
“We are industrious people. We work hard. We are intelligent. But when you have people who cannot think things through and do things in ways you would not expect a government to do them, the vulnerable among us are the ones who bear the brunt,” he said.
State coordinators pledge to begin work
Responding on behalf of the newly appointed state directors, the organisation’s Kogi State Director, Usman Ibrahim, pledged that the coordinators would begin work immediately.
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He said many of the directors had extensive experience in grassroots politics and understood the political peculiarities of their respective states.
“We are very much aware of the task ahead. Many of us have been on the ground for a long time, although in other parties. We come from different backgrounds, and we are not new to the game either. The nooks and crannies are well known to us,” he said.
Mr Ibrahim said the coordinators would rely on logistical support from the campaign leadership to achieve their objectives.
He said the campaign would present the Makinde/Daura ticket to voters as an alternative to the current administration, particularly on insecurity and the economy.
“We want to assure you that when we get to the field, what we will be telling the people is what they already know. We want to assure you that the Makinde/Daura combination is what Nigeria needs,” he said.
He also promised that the campaign would confront the challenge of insecurity.
“Insecurity is one of the challenges facing Nigeria, but by January 2027, there will be no hiding place for those who have a hand in it,” he said.
The campaign organisation said the newly inaugurated coordinators would now return to their states to commence the grassroots mobilisation, including the recruitment of canvassers and polling unit agents.
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