The first lady commissioned the Abuja headquarters of the group campaigning for President Tinubu’s re-election and said she wants a Nigeria she can enjoy in her 70s
First Lady Remi Tinubu says she hopes to leave the presidential villa in 2031 for a Nigeria she can enjoy in her 70s.
She spoke on Friday at the inauguration of the Abuja headquarters of the PBAT Door-to-Door Movement, a grassroots group campaigning for President Bola Tinubu’s re-election in 2027.
“I want to leave Aso Rock, in 2031, by the grace of God, and enter a Nigeria that me as a 70-something-year-old woman will enjoy,” she said.
What Remi Tinubu said at the inauguration
The first lady cited “improvements at Nigerian airports” as evidence of progress. She gave no figures in the remarks reported.
“I want to get to the airport. I want to travel, you know, so quickly. And you can see our airports too are changing,” she said.
She said Nigeria is making progress and suggested that people who do not see it could be given what she called “Bola Tinubu eyeglasses”.
“So things are happening in Nigeria, except, you know, those who don’t see; maybe we’ll give them some, you know, Bola Tinubu eyeglasses. We are doing that, JigiBola,” she said.
She then commissioned the office and backed her husband’s re-election.
“So to the glory of God, and for the victory of Mr President come 2027, I hereby formally commission the PBAT door-to-door movement campaign headquarters Abuja,” she said.
She closed by expressing support for the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and for the movement’s convener, Government Ekpemupolo, popularly known as Tompolo, who is its grand patron.
Senate President Godswill Akpabio, Delta State Governor Sheriff Oborevwori and Deputy Speaker Benjamin Kalu were among those pictured at the event.
Remi Tinubu’s remarks and the 2027 campaign
The movement says the new office will coordinate its activities in the Federal Capital Territory and support its national mobilisation. Its national coordinator, Sunday Asuku, said its strategy involves taking the president’s message to households, markets, workplaces and places of worship. He said more than 300 campaign vehicles and equipment had been distributed across states. Tompolo said the movement had taken the re-election message to 14 states and plans to reach the rest and the FCT.
The movement says its aim is to explain the administration’s programmes on infrastructure, education, healthcare and economic reforms.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has fixed 16 January 2027 for the presidential and National Assembly elections. Campaigns are permitted from 19 August 2026 to 15 January 2027. The Constitution limits a president to two four-year terms, so a second term beginning in 2027 would end in 2031.
The opposition African Democratic Congress (ADC) has criticised the president’s approach to the campaign. Its presidential campaign council said on 16 October that another APC term would prolong the hardship Nigerians face, and urged voters to reject the party. It also criticised the president’s reported plan not to campaign in all 36 states.
