Youth members of the All Progressives Congress (APC), operating under the Youths on Ground Progressive and Mentorship Initiative (YOG), on Thursday called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and APC governors to grant them greater recognition and partnership in governance, while pledging to mobilise 10 million votes for the President’s re-election bid in the 2027 presidential election.
Speaking at a press conference in Abuja, National Coordinator of YOG, Dr. Obioma Nwuba, said the group was established in August 2025 as a structured, values-driven platform for youth mobilisation, mentorship and grassroots empowerment.
He stressed that Nigerian youths, who constitute the majority of the population, must move from the margins of politics to the centre of nation-building rather than being engaged only as thugs or ballot-box protectors during election seasons.
“Mr President, you have given us the vision. Give us the vehicle. YOG is that vehicle, tested, structured, and already on the ground,” Nwuba declared. “You cannot win 2027 with manifestos alone. You win it with grassroots mobilisation. Ten million organised youths are ten million votes, ten million voices and 10 million defenders of the Renewed Hope Agenda.”
The group urged the Federal Government and members of the APC Progressive Governors’ Forum to formally recognise, endorse and partner with YOG as the grassroots delivery arm of the Renewed Hope Agenda. Nwuba emphasised that hope cannot be renewed from Abuja alone but must be felt in communities across the country from farms in Jalingo to workshops in Benin and cities such as Awka and Owo.
“Governors, we are not asking for handouts. We are offering you foot soldiers for food security, for peace, and for jobs in your states. Partner with us, and let us turn policy into plates of food and internally generated revenue,” he said. “The time for youth conferences is over. The time for youth contracts is now.”
YOG outlined its four strategic pillars as youth participation in governance and civic engagement, policy advocacy, community-centred peacebuilding, and economic empowerment.
The initiative said it is already running Agro-Tech training and skills acquisition programmes, mentorship pipelines, and health outreach activities across the six geopolitical zones, aligning its work with President Tinubu’s Eight-Point Agenda.
The group announced that arrangements are at an advanced stage for a “10 Million Youths on Ground” mega rally in November 2026, at which a formal youth declaration in support of Tinubu’s second-term aspiration will be made. It called on positive-minded young Nigerians in every ward, local government area, state and the diaspora to join the mobilisation effort.
Nwuba noted that Nigeria’s median age is below 18 years, describing the youthful population as either the nation’s greatest asset or its greatest risk depending on how it is organised and engaged. He said YOG is deliberately building a nationwide structure so that young people from every part of the country can participate as genuine stakeholders rather than spectators.
The group reiterated its full support for the continuity of purposeful leadership under President Tinubu and the Renewed Hope Agenda, positioning organised youth mobilisation as critical to both electoral success in 2027 and sustainable national development.