No Vacancy at Villa Until 2031, Mariya Bunkure Tells APC Supporters

Minister of State for the Federal Capital Territory, Mariya Mahmud, has declared that the All Progressives Congress (APC) will remain in power in Nigeria beyond 2031, telling party supporters that there is “no vacancy” in the Presidential Villa until then.

Mahmud made the declaration in Kano on Monday during the formal launch of the City Boy Movement (CBM), a political organisation focused on mobilising youths and women in support of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s re-election bid and the continued dominance of the APC at the federal level.

The minister stressed the importance of youth participation in politics, arguing that no political movement could achieve meaningful success by sidelining young Nigerians.

According to her, youths constitute between 60 and 70 per cent of Nigeria’s population, making their participation crucial to any serious political mobilisation.

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“If you want to achieve anything and you leave the capable youth behind, you cannot succeed,” Mahmud said, while explaining that the movement was established to bring people together and communicate the policies and programmes of the Tinubu administration.

She cited initiatives including the student loan scheme administered through the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) and ongoing reforms in the Federal Capital Territory as examples of measures she said would strengthen the administration’s appeal to voters.

Mahmud also highlighted the participation of women in the City Boy Movement, describing their involvement as critical to the APC’s electoral prospects.

Speaking at the event, the Director-General of CBM, Francis Oluwatosin Shoga, announced an ambitious target of 10 million members for the movement.

Shoga urged members to move beyond political gatherings and establish a strong presence within communities, markets, schools and universities in order to build a sustainable grassroots network.

“Our objective is 10 million members. If we are able to have 10 million members, we can decide the future of this country,” he said.

In Kano, the movement’s coordinator and APC House of Representatives candidate for Tarauni Constituency, Nasir Bala Ja’oji, said the state had so far registered 189,111 members, which he claimed placed Kano ahead of other states in the national membership drive.

Ja’oji called for stronger leadership structures and deeper engagement at the local government level, saying the movement needed to develop a disciplined and effective grassroots organisation capable of advancing its political objectives.

“Our objective must be clear, to build a strong, united, disciplined and effective grassroots structure, capable of delivering the objectives of the City Boy Movement and contributing meaningfully to the political development of our communities and our great country,” he said.

Also speaking, Muhammad Jamo Yusuf, a member of the CBM National Working Committee, commended the initiative and said the APC supported grassroots movements capable of mobilising citizens around the party’s programmes.

Yusuf cited the liberalisation of the oil sector as one of the major economic reforms undertaken by the Tinubu administration, arguing that such policies required time and continuity before their full impact could be realised.

The launch in Kano adds to the growing political mobilisation ahead of the 2027 general elections, with APC supporters and affiliated groups increasingly positioning themselves around President Tinubu’s re-election campaign.