By Joycelyn Ellakeche Adah
South-South leaders and political mobilisers have declared support for President Bola Tinubu’s reelection bid, citing ongoing road projects, student loans, rural electrification and other federal government interventions in the region under the Renewed Hope Agenda.
The declaration was made in Abuja during a press conference addressed by Hon. Gift Johnbull, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Community Engagement (South-South), who listed infrastructure and social programmes she said were evidence of the administration’s commitment to the oil producing region.
Johnbull said major road projects, including the 750 kilometer Lagos- Calabar Coastal Highway, the Benin -Asaba dual carriageway and the East -West Road, were receiving attention under the Federal Ministry of Works.
“The South-South is the region that powers this nation with oil and gas. You have not ignored us. You have embraced us. You have invested in us. You have respected us,” she said in her message to the President.
She added that the projects were expected to improve connectivity and support trade, tourism, agriculture and economic activities across the region.
Beyond roads, Johnbull highlighted projects being implemented through the Niger Delta Development Commission, including the kaa – Ataba Bridge, the Ogu Road Network, the Bonny Ring Road and the Okrika – Borokiri Bridge.
She also cited the Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project’s interventions in Ogoniland, including mangrove restoration, provision of potable water to 49 communities, health facilities and employment opportunities.
On electricity, she said the Rural Electrification Agency was supporting solar mini – grid projects in communities in Cross River and Rivers states, with other sites planned across the region under the $750 million Distributed Access through Renewable Energy Scale up (DARES) programme.
Johnbull also pointed to the Nigeria Education Loan Fund, saying nearly 198,000 students from the South- South had benefited from more than ₦17.6 billion in disbursements.
“In education, NELFUND is a game changer. Today, nearly 198,000 students from the South-South have benefited, with over ₦17.6 billion disbursed to keep our children in school.”
She further listed housing projects, compressed natural gas buses, digital skills training under the 3 Million Technical Talent programme and solar powered health centres among the interventions she said were benefiting residents.
Johnbull said the projects had strengthened the region’s confidence in the administration and pledged continued support for the Renewed Hope Agenda.
“We assure you of our continued support, our prayers, and our commitment to the Renewed Hope Agenda. From Akwa Ibom to Bayelsa, from Cross River to Delta, from Edo to Rivers, we stand together,”
A grassroots mobiliser, Cletus Ojuiso, also expressed support for Tinubu, saying the administration had created opportunities for people from the region to engage with the federal government and benefit from its programmes.
Ojuiso singled out the student loan scheme, saying it was helping young people remain in school despite financial difficulties.
“Like the young ones who are coming up from my age back then, so many people dropped out of school because of school fees. Those who had no parents could not even afford an NCE. But right now in our region, we have students who have graduated because of this administration,”
He called for continuity, saying he wanted the programmes to continue providing educational and social opportunities for young people in the South- South.
Ambassador Victoria Uko of the All Southern Decide Network said women’s groups were also mobilising support for the President, crediting Johnbull with taking the administration’s message to women in markets, homes and communities across the region.
“She has taken the message of Mr President to the South -South women, to every woman in the community.
She has taken the voice of the President to every woman in the market, door to door, market to market, house to house, neighbour to neighbour,”
Uko said the network was organising women across the region’s 123 local government areas ahead of the 2027 general election.
She said the group had compiled a database of women with Permanent Voter Cards and submitted it to Johnbull’s office as part of its mobilisation efforts.
“The South- South women are fully ready in support of continuity of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. We are making sure that all the women come out massively to vote,”
The speakers called on residents of the South-South at home and abroad to support the administration, arguing that the region’s infrastructure and social development needs were receiving attention under the Renewed Hope Agenda.
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