Ekiti group mobilises 5,000 canvassers for Makinde presidential bid

Political pressure group Grassroots 121 Action has inaugurated 5,000 polling-unit canvassers in Ekiti State as part of a campaign to secure at least 200,000 votes for Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde in the 2027 presidential election. The group’s convener, Lanre Fajuyi, disclosed the plan in a statement issued in Ado Ekiti on Thursday. Makinde is identified in the statement as the presidential candidate of the Allied Peoples Movement.

The canvassers are expected to coordinate mobilisation across the state’s 2,445 polling units. The structure covers all 16 local government areas and includes newly inaugurated unit coordinators and assistant unit coordinators. Fajuyi charged the organisers with engaging voters directly, identifying important community issues and maintaining mobilisation at polling-unit level.

She described the vote target as part of a longer-term effort to build a grassroots network before the 2027 poll. “We have set a clear target of a minimum of 200,000 votes in Ekiti State,” Fajuyi said, adding that the target would require organisation, commitment and sustained engagement rather than a one-off declaration. The group also criticised the economic policies of President Bola Tinubu’s administration.

It alleged that the policies had increased financial pressure on households, reduced purchasing power and contributed to worsening hardship. Grassroots 121 Action further described Federal Government interventions on poverty, unemployment, food insecurity and the rising cost of living as inadequate. Fajuyi said the group’s support for Makinde formed part of a wider discussion about Nigeria’s political direction ahead of the next presidential election.

The group said its campaign would include voter education and efforts to encourage political participation. It described the canvassers’ inauguration as the beginning of sustained mobilisation across Ekiti rather than the completion of the campaign.