By Alex Enebeli

The newly inaugurated AS Tinubu and Mbah Move (ATM) support group says it is targeting 82,900 new members across Enugu State to mobilise support for President Bola Tinubu and Gov. Peter Mbah’s 2027 re-election bids.

The group announced the target at its inauguration ceremony held at the International Conference Centre, Enugu, on Saturday.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the group was convened by the Minister of Innovation, Science and Technology, Mr Kingsley Udeh, SAN, while Mbah inaugurated it.

Speaking at the event, Udeh said ATM would establish structures across the state, from the national and state levels to local governments, wards and polling units.

He said the group would promote the achievements of Tinubu and Mbah and mobilise support for the continuation of their policies and development programmes.

According to him, reforms require time to produce results, making continuity important for policies and programmes aimed at improving citizens’ welfare.

Udeh said interested persons could register through the group’s online portal, provided they had Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) and were willing to support the re-election of the two leaders.

He said ATM was targeting 20 members in each of Enugu State’s 4,145 polling units, bringing its membership target to 82,900.

He explained that the target was mainly people outside the All Progressives Congress (APC), rather than existing party members.

“Our target is the new members that will add to what we already have as a movement for the re-election of the president and the governor.

“We are targeting 20 in each polling unit. I am a scientific person, so it is not just about claiming numbers because it takes a lot of energy to make this happen,” he said.

The minister said membership would be voluntary, with opportunities for empowerment, mentorship and human capacity development.

He added that the empowerment programmes would be based on members’ participation and contributions to the group’s mobilisation activities.

Udeh said ATM would remain active beyond the 2027 elections, adding that its programmes would continue to support members through mentorship and empowerment.

He cited improvements in economic growth, infrastructure, education, healthcare and transportation as some of the developments informing the group’s support for Tinubu and Mbah.

Inaugurating the group, Mbah urged members to extend their mobilisation activities to communities, villages, streets, families and polling units.

He urged them to engage residents on the administrations’ achievements by highlighting development projects and other interventions in their communities.

The governor said Tinubu’s economic reforms had helped stabilise the country’s macroeconomic environment and restore investors’ confidence.

He identified the removal of fuel subsidy and unification of foreign exchange rates as difficult but necessary decisions taken to reposition the economy.

On the political future of the South-East, Mbah urged the people to embrace strategic alliances rather than political isolation.

He recalled that political leaders from the region had historically formed alliances with other parts of the country to advance their political interests.

He said stronger political relationships across the country would improve the South-East’s participation in national leadership.

Earlier, ATM Coordinator, Mr Igboke Okadigbo, said many members previously operated in the civil society space and were not actively involved in partisan politics.

Okadigbo said their decision to participate in political mobilisation was informed by confidence in Mbah’s leadership and the need to support his administration through grassroots engagement.

He said members would undertake community mobilisation, public education and sensitisation to canvass support for the re-election of Tinubu and Mbah.

The coordinator added that the group would deploy technology and other innovative tools to measure its activities and strengthen grassroots engagement.

(NAN)

Edited by Muhammad LawaL