Grassroots Group Deploys 5,000 Canvassers in Ekiti, Sets 200,000-Vote Target for Makinde

A political pressure group, Grassroots 121 Action, has inaugurated 5,000 polling-unit canvassers across Ekiti State as part of a grassroots mobilisation campaign aimed at securing at least 200,000 votes for Oyo State Governor and Allied Peoples Movement (APM) presidential candidate, Seyi Makinde, in the 2027 presidential election.

The group announced the initiative during an inauguration programme in Ado-Ekiti, saying its mobilisation structure would operate across the state’s 16 local government areas and 2,445 polling units. The figures correspond with the polling-unit structure reported for Ekiti State.

According to the group’s convener, Lanre Fajuyi, the newly appointed unit coordinators and assistant coordinators are expected to maintain direct engagement with voters, identify issues affecting communities and sustain mobilisation activities at the grassroots.

Fajuyi said the 200,000-vote objective was part of a longer-term strategy to build an organised political network capable of translating support for Makinde into electoral participation in 2027.

“We have set a clear target of a minimum of 200,000 votes in Ekiti State,” Fajuyi said, describing the target as requiring sustained organisation, commitment and engagement rather than a one-off political gathering.

The group also criticised economic policies under President Bola Tinubu’s administration, arguing that they have contributed to economic pressure on households, declining purchasing power and difficulties relating to poverty, unemployment, food insecurity and the cost of living. Those assertions represent the group’s political assessment and have not been independently established by the reports reviewed for this article.

Grassroots 121 Action said its campaign would also emphasise voter education and political participation, with the newly inaugurated canvassers expected to maintain contact with voters across their assigned communities.

The mobilisation comes against the backdrop of increasing political organisation ahead of the 2027 presidential election. Earlier in 2026, 5,000 community canvassers were also inaugurated in Ekiti to support Governor Biodun Oyebanji’s re-election campaign and President Tinubu’s political interests, illustrating the growing emphasis on polling-unit and person-to-person mobilisation in the state.

The 200,000-vote figure announced by Grassroots 121 Action is therefore a campaign target rather than an electoral result or independently verified projection. Its eventual achievement would depend on voter preferences, turnout, party organisation and developments during the 2027 electoral process.

For Obaland magazine, the development underscores the increasingly grassroots-driven nature of Nigeria’s emerging 2027 political contest, while the ultimate electoral decision remains with registered voters in accordance with Nigeria’s electoral laws.

Grassroots 121 Action has inaugurated 5,000 canvassers across Ekiti State and set a target of 200,000 votes for Seyi Makinde ahead of Nigeria’s 2027 presidential election.