The Deputy Director-General for Policy, Research and Strategy of the City Boy Movement, Bobo Akpapunam, has revealed that the movement is repositioning itself as a data-driven political organisation with a long-term vision that extends beyond the next election cycle.
During the City Boy Movement National Retreat in Abuja, Akpapunam said the gathering was convened to harmonise the vision, strategy and operational framework of the movement across the country following the restructuring of its National Working Committee (NWC).
According to him, the retreat brought together representatives from all 36 states, zonal leaders and national officials to develop a unified approach to strengthening the movement from the national level down to the ward level.
“The essence of the retreat is for everyone to speak with one voice and pursue one vision. We want to understand the peculiar challenges in every state, identify local opportunities and develop strategies that reflect the reality that politics is local,” he said.
Akpapunam stressed that the retreat was designed strictly as a policy and strategy session rather than a ceremonial event, describing it as an ongoing conversation that will continue through the election period and beyond.
A major highlight of the retreat, he disclosed, is the movement’s transition to a data-driven model aimed at building a sustainable political structure capable of remaining relevant beyond President Bola Tinubu’s administration.
He said the City Boy Movement currently has over 500,000 registered supporters and is launching a nationwide membership drive across all 36 states and the diaspora.
The movement, he explained, is targeting at least 80,000 registered members in each state, with an ambitious goal of reaching five million registered members before November.
Beyond registration, Akpapunam said the movement plans to work towards ensuring members are registered voters and possess Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs), while also revalidating existing membership records to maintain credible data.
He added that the movement’s database would capture members’ professions and skills, allowing empowerment programmes to be tailored to the economic strengths of individual states.
“For example, if a large number of our members in Kano are involved in the leather industry, our empowerment programmes there will focus on that sector. We want our interventions to be informed by data rather than assumptions,” he explained.
Akpapunam said the long-term objective is to build a reliable political database that can serve future presidential candidates after President Tinubu, ensuring the City Boy Movement remains a strategic force in Nigeria’s political landscape.
Responding to questions on possible challenges, he expressed confidence that the movement faces no significant obstacles, attributing this optimism to what he described as the achievements of President Tinubu’s administration.
“Our responsibility is simply to tell the story of what the President is doing. When there are visible achievements, communicating them becomes much easier,” he said.
The City Boy Movement, which has existed for more than six years, says it is now focused on institutionalising its structures, expanding its membership base and deploying data-driven strategies to strengthen grassroots political mobilisation nationwide.