Speaker Abbas Urges Reelection Campaigners to Remain Focused, Preach Tinubu’s Achievements
The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Abbas Tajudeen, has urged campaign organisations to remain focused and not be distracted while marketing President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
Speaker Abbas, while hosting the National Executive Council of a socio-political organisation, Relax Tinubu is Fixing Nigeria (RTIFN), in Abuja on Thursday, stressed the need for campaigners to engage the electorate with facts, patience, and maturity, urging them not to be provoked by criticisms and confrontations.
He said, “I welcome the leadership of Relax Tinubu Is Fixing Nigeria, to the House of Representatives. Democracy grows stronger when citizens understand public policy, ask informed questions, and participate peacefully. Any organisation that takes government policy to the grassroots accepts a serious duty. It must inform, listen, and report truthfully.
“The Renewed Hope Agenda is addressing difficult structural problems. Its purpose is to strengthen the economy, expand opportunity, and build institutions that can serve Nigerians more effectively.
“Support cannot rest on slogans. Citizens should see what policy means in their community through a road, a student loan, a new skill, a safer farm, or a stronger small business. Credible advocacy admits that reforms impose costs. It explains the objective, listens to hardship, and communicates the relief and opportunities available to citizens.”
He added, “The House will continue to legislate, appropriate, and oversee. A support group must remain independent of public institutions and comply with electoral, financial, and data protection laws. Verify every claim against an official source. Correct mistakes quickly. Confidence grows when evidence is accurate and accessible.
“Create channels through which citizens can ask questions and report problems. Grassroots engagement must carry information in both directions. Reach women, young people, persons with disabilities, artisans, farmers, traders, and communities beyond party structures.
“Combine advocacy with useful service. Policy clinics, voter education, skills referrals, and community outreach give public engagement practical value. Avoid insults, threats, ethnic appeals, and manufactured information. Defend the administration with evidence, restraint, and respect.”
The Speaker commended President Tinubu’s son, Mr. Seyi Tinubu, for initiating the group, stressing the importance of correcting the public narratives about the government. He especially urged the RTIFN to do a comparative analysis of the achievements of the current administration with those of the previous ones. “It is not just what Tinubu has done but compare it with what his predecessors have done,” he said.
The Speaker further advised the RTIFN to “let the entire country be your constituency as far as this campaign is concerned,” while urging the body to “make the peace and keep the peace. Start with peace, end with peace. Don’t allow confrontation and provocation. Don’t go outside the law.”
He said, “Prepare for the 2027 election within the law. Political support must never blur the distinction between party activity, civil society engagement, and the constitutional work of the House.
Your strongest message will not be that government has no challenges. It will be that the government has a plan, is producing results, and remains willing to listen. Take facts to the people and bring the people’s concerns back to those in public office. That is how advocacy can strengthen both democracy and development.”
Speaker Abbas, who accepted his appointment as Grand Patron of the RTIFN, was presented with a letter, plaque, and lapel by the Deputy Director-General of the body, Zack Orji, a veteran Nollywood actor.
Orji, who extended the courtesies from Seyi Tinubu, said the RTIFN was out to communicate the policy achievements of President Tinubu, noting that the organisation has compiled the administration’s achievements. “In the history of this country, there are so many things that the President has achieved that have never been achieved before,” he said.
While noting that the RTIFN will soon release a compendium of achievements by the current administration, Orji said, “We are here to intimate you about this and to request for you to be a patron of this organisation.”