By Femi Salako Recently, when the Minister of Interior, Hon. Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, put a lie to the border-reopening falsehood of former Vice President and 2027 presidential candidate of the African
By Femi Salako
Recently, when the Minister of Interior, Hon. Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, put a lie to the border-reopening falsehood of former Vice President and 2027 presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Atiku Abubakar, he was doing the very best thing a government should do to silence critics: marshal logic, science, data, and a history of verifiable achievements. Playing on the intelligence of Nigerians, Atiku had promised to reopen closed land borders with Benin Republic, Niger, Chad, and Cameroon, arguing that restrictions had damaged cross-border trade, businesses, and employment. Atiku was playing politics as usual. But as the Interior Minister indicated, Nigeria’s borders are not closed and therefore cannot be “reopened.” He pointed to the reopening of Seme, Illela, Maigatari, and Mfum in December 2020; Idiroko and Ikom in April 2022; and Kamba and Tsamiya in Kebbi State in February 2026, and debunked the idea that the Banki and Amchidé crossings were part of the 2019 trade-policy border closures. As he noted, they were closed in 2014 because of Boko Haram-related security threats and later reopened, while Fotokol and Gambaru followed in 2021. The ex-president and perpetual presidential candidate had no comeback: he was thoroughly deflated with facts.
Nearly all Nigerians, regardless of political persuasion, are agreed on Tunji-Ojo’s sterling credentials as a minister under the Renewed Hope administration of President Bola Tinubu, and when he speaks it carries considerable authority. It is a no-brainer that a minister who delivers visible results can strengthen the perception that the administration is competent and capable of solving problems. He provides concrete achievements to campaign on, significantly improves the president’s credibility, creates a positive narrative around the administration, and strengthens support among affected constituencies. When a minister delivers benefits to particular groups such as workers, businesses, students, communities, or security personnel, those groups tend to become more favourably disposed toward the administration. Besides, he generates grassroots goodwill and helps the government to defend its record. We all know that during an election, opposition parties will do their very best — and their worst — to highlight present challenges. But demonstrable ministerial achievements give the governing party specific counterarguments, and that’s where Tunji-Ojo’s rebuttal to Atiku acquires so much power. As a minister with a record of performance, Tunji-Ojo can explain government policies and achievements with greater authority because he can point to what his ministry has actually delivered. Tunji-Ojo has been credited with reforms in Nigeria’s Ministry of Interior, including the digitization of passport services and efforts to reduce processing delays. He has also overseen initiatives aimed at improving correctional facilities, immigration services, and the efficiency of government processes. These are unique selling points for the administration.
Without doubt, President Tinubu has steered Nigeria in the right direction since assuming office, but as a candidate seeking re-election he is duty-bound to sell himself to the electorate, again and again; enter into strategic alliances; and reshape the texture of his electoral messaging as the need arises. In this regard, the Interior Minister’s mobilization efforts in Ondo State, kicked off long before now, add a strong layer to the president’s campaign. Tunji-Ojo is on record as sponsoring or supporting groups such as the Asiwaju Mandate Group (AMG), BTO4PBAT, and BTO–Unit to Unit for Tinubu’s Re-election, giving them an organizational vehicle for sustained mobilization rather than relying solely on the formal APC structure. Crucially, he has shifted mobilization toward the grassroots, mandating supporters to work at the polling-unit, ward, and local-government levels. At the April inauguration of BTO–Unit to Unit, his representatives specifically called for mobilization at unit, ward, and LGA levels. Tunji-Ojo has built a ward-by-ward mobilization operation across the Sunshine State. The BTO4PBAT movement has undertaken ward-to-ward tours, including a mobilization tour through Akoko North-West LGA, with the stated objective of consolidating support for Tinubu.
The minister’s political network has been mobilizing across Ondo’s 18 local government areas, with support groups holding meetings and sensitization activities in individual councils such as Odigbo and Owo. BTO4PBAT has commenced massive grassroots mobilization across all 18 LGAs, 203 wards, and 3,933 polling units in Ondo. The target is to translate Tunji-Ojo’s local political network into votes for Tinubu and other APC candidates. Significantly, the minister has made women a specific mobilization constituency. It is a fact that in their own way, women drive political mobilization far more than men can do. In March, the women’s wing of the Asiwaju Mandate Group announced a target of securing 95 per cent support among women in Ondo State for Tinubu. In the same vein, Tunji-Ojo has mobilized students and young people. Student leaders from tertiary institutions in Ondo were brought into the mobilization effort, with the stated purpose of taking the campaign to the grassroots and helping secure Tinubu’s victory.
In August 2026, the BTO Vanguard for Tinubu/Shettima 2027 opened a strategic office in Akure. The office is intended to function as a coordination centre for political planning, stakeholder engagement, communication, community outreach, and grassroots mobilization, particularly in Ondo Central. The Akure operation received a campaign bus, alongside financial empowerment for some members. Organisers explicitly linked the resources to facilitating community visits, movement, and grassroots outreach. Tactically, rather than relying on occasional political rallies, the groups backed by Tunji-Ojo have been instructed to maintain contact with communities, listen to residents’ concerns, and explain the Tinubu administration’s policies and programmes. Tunji-Ojo’s BTO4PBAT movement has publicly urged APC members to put internal differences aside and unite behind Tinubu ahead of 2027. The argument is that a stronger, less divided state party structure will improve the president’s electoral prospects. As early as August 2025, Tunji-Ojo called for a stronger relationship between the government, the APC, and independent support groups, arguing that these groups should complement the formal party machinery in delivering Tinubu’s message to the grassroots.
At the April 2026 inauguration of the BTO–Unit to Unit organization, Tunji-Ojo declared Tinubu’s 2027 re-election “non-negotiable” and argued that the administration’s performance would justify another term. His support groups have been instructed to communicate the administration’s achievements in the economy, education, and infrastructure, using the government’s record as the central argument for re-election. BTO4PBAT has publicly targeted 90% of Ondo’s votes for Tinubu in 2027, while also saying it intends to deliver victories for APC candidates across the state. Again, the emerging structure involves several support groups and local chapters, including the Asiwaju Mandate Group and BTO-branded organizations, with activities being coordinated across different LGAs and communities. An APC elder in Ondo has described Tunji-Ojo’s various support groups as helping bridge divisions within the party ahead of 2027.
Time and again, Tunji-Ojo has engaged in media promotions targeted at the President’s re-election. The BTO Renewed Media Team has also coordinated promotions of Tinubu media jobs. Taken together, then, Tunji-Ojo’s strategy is about building an electoral machine. The tactics are to identify constituencies (women, students, youths, and community leaders), establish organizations around them, take mobilization down to wards and polling units, provide transport/logistical support, maintain community contact, and simultaneously push for greater unity within the APC. He has made a strategic move toward permanent organizational infrastructure, particularly the Akure campaign office and the stated 18-LGA/203-ward/3,933-polling-unit mobilization network.
According to the philosopher John Locke, political power must be directed toward the “common good” and the peace, safety, and public good of the people. Ghana’s Kwame Nkrumah frames the argument this way: politicians must use that opportunity to serve the people through “honest and efficient service.” That is what the Tinubu Presidency represents, and that is the message Tunji-Ojo has purveyed for years now. As things stand, the Ondo people are fully mobilized to reaffirm Tinubu’s mandate and prevent desperate power mongers from halting the march toward progress and prosperity that he has already unleashed.
•By Femi Salako
Triangle International Media publisher
