Afolayan Rejigs Youth For Tinubu Initiative, Launches BSA Youth Movement Ahead 2027

• …New Grassroots Structure to Mobilise Across Oyo’s 33 LGAs, Wards and Polling Units; Begins House-to-House Campaign for Tinubu, BSA and APC Candidates Across the Ballot

The Director-General and Convener of the Youth for Tinubu Initiative (YTI), Ajibola Afolayan, has announced a comprehensive restructuring and expansion of the organisation’s Oyo State chapter ahead of the 2027 general elections, while simultaneously unveiling a new youth-driven political mobilisation platform, the BSA Youth Movement, in support of the All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate in Oyo State, Senator Barrister Sharafadeen Abiodun Alli, popularly known as BSA.

The development marks a significant new phase in Afolayan’s political mobilisation journey, which dates back to 2021, when he founded and launched the Youth for Tinubu Initiative as a youth support platform for the presidential aspiration of then-Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

Five years after that initial mobilisation, Afolayan says the time has come to rejig, rebuild, expand and reposition the structure for the 2027 electoral cycle.

The renewed YTI structure will focus on grassroots mobilisation for the re-election bid of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, while the newly established BSA Youth Movement will serve as a dedicated youth mobilisation platform for the governorship candidacy of Senator Sharafadeen Abiodun Alli in Oyo State.

The mobilisation, however, will not be restricted to the presidential and governorship contests. Afolayan says the emerging structure will also work towards building grassroots support for the three APC Senatorial candidates in Oyo State, all APC House of Representatives candidates and all APC State House of Assembly candidates, with the objective of ensuring a coordinated and comprehensive campaign for the party’s candidates across the ballot.

FROM 2021 TO 2027: A MOVEMENT REPOSITIONED

The Youth for Tinubu Initiative, established in 2021 under the leadership of Ajibola Afolayan, was created as a youth-driven support platform to mobilise young Nigerians around the presidential ambition of Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

The initiative subsequently became part of the wider network of support organisations that participated in the mobilisation that culminated in Tinubu’s emergence as President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria in 2023.

According to Afolayan(The Iseyin born youth mobilizer), the 2023 experience provided invaluable lessons in grassroots politics, youth mobilisation, political communication, coalition building and the importance of maintaining functional political structures beyond election day.

It is on the strength of those experiences that the organisation is now being repositioned for 2027.

The Oyo State chapter of Youth for Tinubu Initiative will be expanded to accommodate more members, coordinators, volunteers and grassroots leaders, with a structure designed to cascade from the Local Government Area level to wards, polling units and individual communities.

The objective is to build a political organisation that is not merely visible on social media, but physically present among the people and deeply connected to the grassroots.

A STATEWIDE STRUCTURE FROM IBADAN TO IBARAPA

The renewed YTI structure and the BSA Youth Movement will extend their mobilisation across the five broad geographical zones of Oyo State:

Ibadan, Oke-Ogun, Ogbomoso, Oyo and Ibarapa.

The structure will encompass the state’s 33 Local Government Areas, with mobilisation progressively extending to wards, polling units, streets and communities.

From Ibadan to Ogbomoso, Oke-Ogun to Oyo, and Ibarapa to every community in between, the movement is expected to establish a coordinated youth presence capable of engaging directly with the electorate.

The mobilisation network will bring together young professionals, entrepreneurs, students, artisans, farmers, community organisers, political activists and other members of the youth population interested in active participation in the democratic process.

THE REAL MISSION: TAKING THE CAMPAIGN TO THE PEOPLE

The renewed Youth for Tinubu Initiative and the BSA Youth Movement will operate with a clear grassroots mobilisation mandate.

Their activities will include mobilising, galvanising, engaging and canvassing support, as well as communicating the records, policies, programmes and political agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Senator Sharafadeen Abiodun Alli respectively, while also supporting the APC candidates contesting legislative seats across Oyo State.

This broader mobilisation will include the three APC Senatorial candidates, candidates for the House of Representatives across the state’s Federal Constituencies, and candidates for the Oyo State House of Assembly, thereby creating a coordinated grassroots support network for APC candidates across the different levels of the 2027 elections.

The campaign will deliberately move beyond conventional rallies and social-media activities to establish direct, person-to-person contact with the electorate.

A major component of the mobilisation strategy will be house-to-house campaigning and community-to-community engagement.

Volunteers and coordinators will be expected to move into neighbourhoods, communities and wards, engaging eligible voters directly, listening to their concerns, presenting the candidates’ programmes and making the case for the respective campaigns.

The structure will also include:

– Local Government Area mobilisation;
– Ward-to-ward engagement;
– Polling-unit-level coordination;
– House-to-house campaigns;
– Community meetings and town-hall engagements;
– Youth mobilisation and stakeholder outreach;
– Door-to-door voter engagement;
– Political education and campaign communication;
– Grassroots canvassing for the 2027 presidential and governorship elections; and
– Grassroots mobilisation and support for APC Senatorial, House of Representatives and State House of Assembly candidates across Oyo State.

The philosophy behind the structure is simple:

“If we want the people to hear us, we must be prepared to go to the people.”

For Afolayan, political mobilisation cannot be restricted to posters, rallies, press statements or social media.

It must reach the homes, streets, communities, wards and polling units where voters live.

YTI REAFFIRMS SUPPORT FOR PRESIDENT TINUBU’S 2027 BID

Afolayan has reaffirmed that the Youth for Tinubu Initiative remains committed to the 2027 re-election bid of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

The organisation’s position, according to Afolayan, is informed by its longstanding relationship with the Tinubu political project and its assessment of the administration’s reform agenda since May 2023.

Among the major policy initiatives undertaken by the administration are the removal of the petrol subsidy, foreign-exchange reforms, tax and fiscal reforms, efforts to increase government revenue, infrastructure development, transportation projects, power-sector interventions, CNG expansion, agricultural programmes, education financing and social-investment initiatives.

The administration has also highlighted major investments in roads, rail transportation, ports, energy and other critical infrastructure, alongside reforms intended to strengthen Nigeria’s fiscal and economic foundations.

The Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) has expanded access to tertiary education financing, while the administration has also pursued interventions in agriculture, housing, youth empowerment and skills development.

In the energy sector, the government has promoted the development of compressed natural gas infrastructure as part of its broader response to the economic consequences of petrol-subsidy reform.

However, the YTI leadership maintains that the 2027 election provides an opportunity for continuity.

WHY BSA YOUTH MOVEMENT?

While YTI remains focused on the presidential campaign, Afolayan says the political realities of Oyo State require a distinct grassroots youth structure for the governorship contest.

That has led to the creation of the BSA Youth Movement.

The movement is being established around the 2027 governorship candidacy of Senator Barrister Sharafadeen Abiodun Alli, the APC candidate for governor of Oyo State.

Senator Alli is a lawyer and experienced politician whose public-service career has included service as Executive Chairman of Ibadan North Local Government, Secretary to the Oyo State Government and Chief of Staff under the administration of Governor Rashidi Ladoja.

He subsequently served as Chairman of Odu’a Investment Company Limited before entering the National Assembly.

In 2023, he was elected Senator representing Oyo South Senatorial District on the platform of the APC.

His political experience therefore cuts across local government administration, state executive responsibility, corporate leadership and national legislative service.

The BSA Youth Movement will present his political antecedents, experience and proposed development agenda to young people and the wider electorate as part of its grassroots campaign.

While the BSA Youth Movement will remain specifically focused on Senator Alli’s governorship campaign, its grassroots mobilisation framework will operate in synergy with the broader YTI structure in supporting the APC’s candidates across the 2027 ballot in Oyo State.

A NEW GENERATION OF POLITICAL MOBILISATION

The BSA Youth Movement will be deliberately youth-driven, with a structure designed to give young people a central role in grassroots political mobilisation.

Its mandate will include engaging young people on issues affecting their lives and communities, including employment, entrepreneurship, agriculture, education, technology, infrastructure, security, healthcare, local government development and economic opportunity.

The movement will seek to establish a presence across all five geographical zones of Oyo State, with its structure cascading through the 33 Local Government Areas, wards, polling units and communities.

Its emphasis will be on organisation, communication, engagement, mobilisation and measurable grassroots presence.

The campaign will therefore not wait for the electorate to come to it.

It will go to the electorate.

From homes to streets, from communities to wards, and from Local Government Areas to polling units, the movement intends to take its message directly to the people.

At the same time, the broader mobilisation structure will ensure that the electorate is reached with information about the APC candidates contesting the Senate, House of Representatives and State House of Assembly elections across the state.

AFOLAYAN: “WE ARE NOT STARTING FROM ZERO”

Speaking on the development, Afolayan said the decision to restructure YTI and establish the BSA Youth Movement was informed by years of experience in grassroots political mobilisation.

«“We are not starting from zero. Youth for Tinubu Initiative was established in 2021, and we have travelled this political road before. We understand what mobilisation requires, we understand the grassroots, and we understand the importance of building structures that survive beyond social media.”»

He added:

«“We are rejigging the Youth for Tinubu Initiative because 2027 requires a stronger, broader and better-organised structure. We are opening the platform to accommodate more young people across Oyo State and preparing our structures from the Local Government level down to the wards and units.”»

Speaking on the BSA Youth Movement, Afolayan said:

«“BSA Youth Movement is a fresh platform, but it is coming with experienced hands. We are bringing together the energy of young people and the experience of political mobilisation. Our ambition is to build a movement that can be felt across Ibadan, Ogbomoso, Oke-Ogun, Oyo and Ibarapa.”»

He further stressed that the campaign would be rooted in direct engagement with the electorate.

«“If we want the people to hear us, we must be prepared to go to the people. We will mobilise, galvanise, engage and canvass. We will go from house to house, ward to ward and community to community. We will speak with the people, listen to their concerns and present the records and programmes of the candidates we are supporting.”»

Expanding on the wider political objective, Afolayan said:

«“Our support is not limited to the Presidency and the governorship. We are building a structure that will engage the electorate across the entire ballot. We will support the three Senatorial candidates of our party, our House of Representatives candidates and our State House of Assembly candidates. Every level of representation matters, and every candidate requires a strong grassroots connection.”»

He added:

«“We want our young people to understand that elections are not only about the President or the Governor. The people we elect into the Senate, House of Representatives and State House of Assembly also have important responsibilities in shaping the future of our communities. We therefore intend to take the campaign to the people at every level.”»

On Senator Alli, Afolayan said:

«“Oyo State deserves a conversation about competence, experience, capacity, inclusion and the future. That is the conversation BSA Youth Movement intends to take to the grassroots.”»

A NEW POLITICAL CHAPTER

The restructuring of the Youth for Tinubu Initiative and the launch of BSA Youth Movement signal a new phase in Ajibola Afolayan’s political mobilisation journey.

From the establishment of YTI in 2021 to the 2023 presidential election and now the preparation for the 2027 electoral cycle, Afolayan says the central objective remains the same: organising young people, strengthening grassroots participation and building political structures capable of engaging directly with the electorate.

The two platforms will operate as complementary structures:

Youth for Tinubu Initiative — focused on grassroots mobilisation for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s 2027 re-election bid.

BSA Youth Movement — focused on grassroots mobilisation for Senator Barrister Sharafadeen Abiodun Alli’s 2027 governorship campaign in Oyo State.

The broader mobilisation effort will also support the three APC Senatorial candidates, all APC House of Representatives candidates and all APC State House of Assembly candidates across Oyo State.

Together, the structures are expected to deploy a broad youth-led mobilisation network across Oyo State, taking the respective campaigns beyond political gatherings and digital spaces and directly into the communities.

The objective is to build a coordinated grassroots movement capable of reaching voters at every level—from the Presidential and Governorship contests to the Senate, House of Representatives and State House of Assembly elections.

For Afolayan, the message is unequivocal:

«“The political season has entered another phase. The structure is ready, the youths are ready, and we are taking the campaign to the people.”»