First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu on Monday urged women leaders of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), to double down on grassroots mobilization and trust-building as the party prepares for upcoming electoral contests.
Speaking to APC women leaders from across the country, the First Lady described political success as a product of sustained, local engagement rather than gender alone.
“Politics is not about gender; it’s about number,” she said, adding that failure to connect with constituents undermines credibility.
“If you don’t connect with the grassroots, you can’t win their trust.”
Senator Tinubu cited her own record of regular constituent outreach during her 12 years in elective politics, noting she held quarterly town-hall meetings for eight consecutive years while serving in the Senate.
“I connect with the grassroots,” she said.
“I am still the only woman on record who has ever done town-hall meetings every quarter. I did that consecutively for good eight years.”
Warning against the loss of relevance that often follows victory, she urged officeholders to maintain contact with supporters.
“You have to connect with them. If I find it difficult to reach out to you as an office holder, how do you want your constituents to reach out to you?” she asked.
Trust, Tinubu’s wife said, should be a central pillar of party organizing.
“You have to build trust and connection. Once it’s not there, you can’t win,” she said, urging leaders to cultivate relationships that endure beyond campaign seasons.
She recommended deliberate, structured mobilisation at the local level—through voter education, community outreach and sustained engagement—calling the party’s women’s wing a critical engine of grassroots strength.
“Politics is very, very sensitive,” she said.
“People come to our home even when we do invite them, but when they come, we treat them well.”
Tinubu wife also encouraged women to balance public life with family responsibilities.
“You can do both. I have played politics for 12 good years and I still have a husband. Take care of your children, train them well,” she said, adding that social unrest often has roots in unstable homes.
APC National Women Leader Mary Alile Idele praised the First Lady’s Renewed Hope Initiative and described the party’s women’s wing as among the country’s strongest mobilisation networks.
She said the recent election of state and zonal women leaders reflected growing confidence in women’s leadership and strengthened the party’s grassroots structure ahead of future contests.
At the event, the First Lady presented eight buses to APC women leaders representing different zones, a move party officials said was intended to bolster mobilization efforts nationwide.
