A large crowd of supporters of President Bola Tinubu gathered on Sunday in Garun Gabas Ward, Madori Local Government Area of Jigawa State, chanting “Tinubu must stay” during a mobilisation rally led by the Director-General of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Kashifu Abdullahi, to drum up support for Tinubu ahead of the 2027 general elections.
The event, organized by the Tinubu Movement for Sustainable Governance Foundation, known as TMS or the Tinubu Must Stay movement, was led by Abdullahi, who also chairs its board of trustees and serves as national coordinator.
Abdullahi told party officials, community leaders, women and youths that the movement’s goal was to take the administration’s message beyond Abuja and into communities such as Garun Gabas.
He said TMS would explain Tinubu’s economic reforms, strengthen civic engagement and mobilize support for the president’s expected re-election campaign.
“The essence of creating the TMS movement is to go down to the grassroots level to enlighten citizens on President Tinubu’s reforms,” Abdullahi said.
He described the president’s agenda as an effort to diversify Africa’s most populous economy and broaden prosperity, citing interventions in education, agriculture, food security, security, digital literacy and health.
He also pointed to the development paths of South Korea, Singapore, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Malaysia as evidence that sustained policy continuity can reshape an economy.
Abdullahi said TMS planned to empower 200 additional women in Garun Gabas, building on earlier programmes in Jigawa State that provided cash support, sewing machines, bakery equipment and agricultural inputs.
He said the group would focus on women, youths, children and people with disabilities through economic empowerment, education and community-development programmes.
The ceremony also served as a display of party consolidation.
Several members of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the National Democratic Congress (NDC) announced their defection to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), citing development projects in their communities, including technology interventions facilitated by NITDA.
Speaking at the event, Madori Local Government APC Chairman, Alhaji Tanko Ahmad praised Abdullahi for helping establish an Information and Communication Technology Development Center at Government Secondary School, Garun Gabas.
He said the facility had given students access to digital skills at a time when technological capability is increasingly tied to economic opportunity.
“We will not forget NITDA’s intervention through the establishment of the ICTDC in Government Secondary School, Garun Gabas,” Ahmad said.
TMS Convener Engineer Hashim Suleiman described the crowd as evidence of growing local acceptance of the movement.
He said the organization began with activities in the United Kingdom, launched formally in Abuja and is now extending into ward-level communities across Nigeria.
The Garun Gabas office is expected to be followed by similar engagements in other wards and local government areas, combining political sensitization with community programmes, a strategy that could give Tinubu’s allies an early organizational advantage as the 2027 contest approaches.
