President Bola Tinubu’s daughter and Iyaloja-General of Nigeria, Dr Mujidat Folasade Tinubu-Ojo, has inaugurated a political movement to mobilise market women and grassroots voters for her father’s re-election in 2027The Iyaloja General Movement (IGM) was launched on Thursday at Eagle Square, Abuja, with membership drawn mainly from market women across the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory.
The group said it had established structures across the country’s 774 local government areas and electoral wards, with a target of mobilising 10 million votes for Tinubu and the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the 2027 general election.
Speaking at the inauguration, Tinubu-Ojo said the movement would engage market leaders, traders and other informal-sector operators to sensitise them about the elections and encourage them to support candidates they believe can provide effective leadership.
She said coordinators and other officials had been appointed at the state, local government and ward levels to drive the mobilisation campaign.
According to her, market women and other informal-sector workers represent a significant voting bloc because of their reach within communities across the country.
“What we are putting together as market leaders is to encourage our people and sensitise them on the next election — on which direction they should follow — so that they will not derail. And to inaugurate my own movement, the Iyaloja General Movement,” she said.
Tinubu-Ojo urged Nigerians to assess the direction of the country under the current administration, cautioning against electing candidates whose policies, she argued, could reverse the gains recorded under her father’s government.
She expressed confidence in the President’s economic policies, acknowledging the hardship they had caused but maintaining that their long-term benefits would outweigh the difficulties.
“President Tinubu has done well. He has policies that will enhance the country and make our country boom again. We know what he has been doing,” she said.
“What he is doing right now is like a pregnant woman going through labour. We are labouring now. Almost all Nigerians are feeling what he is doing now. The policies are painful, but the end result will justify the means.”
The Iyaloja-General also defended the removal of the petrol subsidy, arguing that the increased revenue available to the federal, state and local governments had helped them execute projects and meet financial obligations, including the payment of workers’ salaries.
She urged voters to reject candidates who had promised to restore the subsidy, saying the revenue generated since its removal had supported infrastructure development and other government activities.
“We don’t want any person who will drive us back. If we vote somebody else now, that person will come with his own ideas. Somebody has said he is going to return the fuel subsidy, and we can see the impact of the fuel subsidy removal in the states,” she said.
“We can see what the three tiers of government are doing. Workers are getting their salaries paid on time, and infrastructure is in place.”
Tinubu-Ojo said the movement would continue engaging market associations and grassroots communities to build support for the President ahead of the 2027 general election.
