The Director of Media, of the Tinubu Support Group (TSG), Bayelsa State chapter, Engr. Udengs Eradiri, has commended Government Ekpemupolo, popularly known as Tompolo, the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Chief Nyesom Wike, and some governors of the All Progressives Congress (APC) for spearheading grassroots mobilisation for President Bola Tinubu’s re-election in 2027.
Eradiri also challenged other APC governors and stakeholders across the country, particularly in the North, to intensify their campaigns for Tinubu’s second term, insisting that the president needs another four years to consolidate his economic reforms and deliver their expected benefits.
Eradiri in a statement in Port Harcourt on Thursday particularly acknowledged the mobilisation efforts of the Tompolo’s door-to-door campaign and Wike’s town hall meetings and stakeholders’ engagements under the Rainbow Coalition.
Eradiri, a former President of the Ijaw Youths Council (IYC) Worldwide and former Bayelsa State Commissioner for Youths and later Environment, said Tompolo’s early mobilisation efforts demonstrated commitment to Tinubu’s re-election bid.
He described Tompolo as a grateful individual, who had continued to invest his resources in mobilising support for the president because of the administration’s contributions to the country and the Niger Delta.
Eradiri said: “The Bayelsa State chapter of the Tinubu Support Group commends and appreciates Government Ekpemupolo, alias Tompolo, for the consistent door-to-door campaign that he is doing to mobilise support for Mr President, not only in the Niger Delta but also across the country.
“Tompolo is outstanding as a grateful individual who, out of gratitude for Mr President, has continued to spend resources to mobilise support for him. He understands and values the magnitude of work the president has been doing for the country and the Niger Delta.”
The TSG media director said Tompolo understood the significance of the decisions taken by Tinubu, particularly the reforms which, according to him, previous administrations lacked the political will to implement.
He added that Tompolo’s mobilisation went beyond activities captured on camera, adding he was also reaching out to influential stakeholders through private consultations and discussions to secure their support for the president.
He said: “Even outside what we see on camera, Tompolo is reaching out to various stakeholders and holding underground discussions to explain to them what the president is doing and to convince them to support Mr President.
“Most importantly, he is committing resources in the right areas to ensure victory for Mr President.”
Eradiri said the support group’s appreciation of Tompolo was also an acknowledgement of his role in setting the pace for the emerging re-election campaign, urging him to sustain the momentum.
He also commended governors and political leaders, who had reportedly begun mobilisation activities in Kaduna, Katsina, Imo and Rivers states, saying their actions showed the importance of early preparation ahead of the 2027 general election.
The former commissioner particularly praised Wike for maintaining an active schedule of town hall meetings and engagements with stakeholders in Rivers State and Abuja through the Rainbow Coalition.
According to him, the FCT minister had made considerable sacrifices to resolve political disagreements in Rivers State and bring different political tendencies together in support of Tinubu’s re-election.
He said: “We acknowledge the commitment of the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, who has maintained a busy schedule holding town hall meetings and stakeholders’ engagements in Rivers and Abuja through his Rainbow Coalition.
“We recognise the sacrifices he has made so far and how he was able to resolve all the crisis in his state to bring everybody under the same family in the interest of working for the re-election of Mr President.”
Eradiri, however, urged other governors and APC leaders to emulate those already involved in mobilisation, warning that the party could not afford complacency if it hoped to secure victory in 2027.
He insisted that electoral success would depend on deliberate planning, sustained engagement with voters and the willingness of party members to participate actively in the campaign.
“We don’t believe in luck; we believe that any man who works hard, the benefits of success will gravitate towards him,” he said.
He also challenged opposition parties to begin their own campaigns early, arguing that political parties should not wait until after an election to raise allegations of irregularities when they had failed to match the organisational efforts of their opponents.
He said: “It is not when we win the election that you will begin to complain of rigging. He who fails to plan has already planned to fail.
“The APC structures are planning and working hard to win the election, crossing the Ts and dotting the Is. The results will surely show in the election, and don’t complain if you fail to match the hard work demonstrated by the APC.”
He called on every APC member to participate actively in the mobilisation, warning that the party’s re-election project required collective commitment rather than passive support.
Beyond political organisation, Eradiri said the campaign must also focus on explaining the rationale behind Tinubu’s economic reforms to Nigerians who were dissatisfied with their immediate effects.
He argued that fundamental changes to an established economic system could produce short-term difficulties, but maintained that the administration’s policies were intended to reposition the country for long-term prosperity.
He said: “We need to tell those who are not happy with the reforms that the steps taken by Mr President are patriotic and geared towards repositioning the country for prosperity.
“Changing a system that has not worked before is not easy; it requires patience and some pains.”
Eradiri said Nigerians needed to understand the country’s economic circumstances before the reforms, the current situation and the potential benefits of sustaining the policies over a longer period.
He maintained that four years was insufficient for reforms to produce their full impact, arguing that Tinubu required another four-year tenure to consolidate the policies introduced by his administration.
“We have always believed that four years is not enough for true change and impact in a society.To consolidate on these reforms, the president surely needs a second term of four years to make it eight years”, he said.
The TSG media director also linked Tinubu’s re-election bid to the future of political leadership in the country, urging northern stakeholders to support the president and allow the South to complete its expected turn in the country’s power-rotation arrangement.
He said a second term for Tinubu would provide an opportunity for the reforms to mature before younger politicians from the North assume leadership and continue the development trajectory.
“That is what we should be working for, so that the younger politicians in the North will take over after President Tinubu and continue on the trajectory,” Eradiri said.
He called on northern political leaders and other stakeholders to support Tinubu’s second-term ambition, arguing that doing so would allow the president to complete what he described as the turn of the south in the country’s leadership rotation.
