Former members of Peter Obi’s 2023 Presidential Campaign Council on Wednesday unveiled an ambitious strategy to boost President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s chances in the 2027 presidential election, declaring that they would concentrate their mobilisation efforts in states where the President lost during the last general election.
The former campaign officials, who formally launched a new political movement known as Batified Obidients in Abuja, said they were confident of attracting former Obidient supporters, undecided voters and other Nigerians to the All Progressives Congress (APC), with the aim of delivering a more decisive victory for President Tinubu.
Responding to questions from journalists after the formal launch of the movement, the National Coordinator of Batified Obidients, Adesina Fagbenro-Byron, said the group’s priority was to expand the President’s support base by targeting areas where opposition candidates performed strongly in 2023.
“In our speech, we said that we mobilised especially in places where opposition to Mr President won,” he said.
According to him, the movement was determined to make a significant electoral impact ahead of the 2027 polls.
“To make our impact, to make our impression, and by the special grace of God, the votes that will come this time will be resounding.”
Fagbenro-Byron expressed confidence that the group’s mobilisation efforts would contribute to an overwhelming victory for President Tinubu.
“Tinubu is not just going to win; he’s going to convincingly win so much that going to court will appear as wisdom. Not because anybody has questions for the court, but because the difference will be clear.”
Earlier, in a keynote address read on his behalf by the Deputy National Coordinator of Batified Obidients and former Head of Logistics of the Obi-Datti Presidential Campaign Council, Fabian Ozoigbo Chukwudoruo, the National Coordinator announced the formal launch of the movement and declared its support for President Tinubu’s re-election bid.
“We are former Labour Party and Obidient supporters. We are now shifting our support to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and adopting the All Progressives Congress, the APC, as our political vehicle for 2027, under the name Batified Obidients,” the address stated.
The group said its members had worked within the Obi-Datti Presidential Campaign Council during the 2023 election but had now resolved to support President Tinubu after reviewing both their experience in the campaign and the performance of the current administration.
It said the movement would work closely with APC structures and Tinubu Support Groups across the country to strengthen grassroots mobilisation ahead of the next general election.
“We will mobilise our former colleagues, undecided voters, and other Nigerians who desire competent and inclusive governance. We will work to grow the support President Tinubu received in 2023, with special attention to states where his opposition won.”
The movement acknowledged that not every former Obidient supporter would join its ranks but expressed confidence that a significant number would embrace the new platform.
“We may not be able to bring every Obidient onto this platform. Some have since moved to the ADC, some to the NDC, and some remain with the Labour Party. We respect their choices and wish them well. But we will welcome a substantial number of them here—enough to strengthen our movement, to add significant energy and numbers to the cause we now share, and to make a meaningful contribution to the political direction of our country.”
Batified Obidients said its members would register across the country, organise campaign structures, participate in political rallies and collaborate with other support groups to advance President Tinubu’s re-election campaign.