By Lukman Olabiyi
The National Youth Leader of the All Progressive Congress (APC), Dayo Israel, has inaugurated the Rivers State chapter of the Jagaban Movement, a national grassroots youth mobilization unit structured into regions, states, Local Government Areas (LGAs, wards, and polling units, with the objective of mobilizing support for the party’s presidential candidate of Bola Tinubu and other candidates .
The event took place in Port Harcourt on Wednesday .
Israel, who since the inauguration of the APC National Youth Wing Campaign Council last month in Kaduna State, has continued his tour of the country to flag-off local youth mobilization efforts organized under the Jagaban Movement, urged members of the Rivers State chapter to prove their mettle and ensure that the party wins the state.
Dismissing critical reports and unverified rumors about the health of the party’s presidential candidate, he claimed that the former Lagos governor boasts of a work rate better than another candidate in the election, with daily trips to different parts of the country to provide insight into his governance manifesto alongside other meetings with important stakeholders where sector-focused issues are deliberated.
He charged the party’s faithfuls to study the candidate’s manifesto and use the knowledge of same to win the hearts of young people in the nooks and crannies of the state. He also encouraged the smart and effective utilization of tools made available to them, including the Canvasser’s Record Sheet, a data-gathering tool designed to help the party prosecute the election with up-to-date data on local voting trends and demographics.
The event was attended by Tonye Cole, the governorship candidate of the party who seized the moment to debunk notions of a rumored deal struck with the opposition to aid his emergence at the polls. He reiterated his total and enduring loyalty to Tinubu and the APC, while providing assurances of meaningful support to the state’s chapter of the Jagaban Movement to attain success in its important youth mobilization quest.
Other party leaders, including members of the state’s executives, were also present at the event, with each of them taking turns to pledge their allegiance to the cause and express optimism of victory come the 25th of February.