Coalition launches Village Boys Movement, targeting 1 million new voters for Obi/Kwankwaso in the South East

A coalition of registered voters in the South East has launched a group called the “Village Boys Movement” (VBM), to mobilize one million new voters in rural communities for the Peter Obi/Rabiu Kwankwaso presidential ticket, ahead of 2027.

Chief Maxi Ukwu, National Chairman of the Coalition and South-East Village Boys for Obi/Kwankwaso (OK), disclosed this during a stakeholders meeting in Enugu on Thursday.

He said their focus was rural communities in the Southeast.

Okwu, former national president of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), said the movement is a non-partisan, grassroots-led advocacy platform focused on mobilizing voters in rural communities in the region.

“We are a coalition of registered voters who support the presidency of Peter Gregory Obi.

“We are not a political party, but a support movement open to all, regardless of party affiliation or gender,” he said.

According to him, the group’s goal is to add one million new voters before the January 2027 presidential election through intensive grassroots outreach and voter registration across the Southeast.

“The strategy is grassroots mobilization; that’s why we call it ‘Village Boys.’

“We want to ensure that people in the villages actively participate in the electoral process,” he said.

Okwu added that the movement will work to ensure greater vigilance during future elections to avoid what happened to Obi in 2023.

“We believe Peter Obi won the last election; this time we want to ensure every vote counts and is protected,” he said.

Also speaking, the general secretary of the movement, Rev. Christopher Obioha, said the group was formed to complement the existing political structures of NDC and Obidients supporting Obi/Kwankwaso ahead of the 2027 elections.

Obioha said the movement became necessary because of the need to strengthen grassroots political structures, especially in rural communities where many eligible voters have become politically apathetic.

According to him, the movement will focus on voter registration, coordination of polling units and election monitoring in communities across the Southeast and beyond.

“We want to ensure that each polling unit has engaged individuals who will mobilize voters and also safeguard the electoral process from vote manipulation and violence,” he said.

Obioha, who is the leader of the Njiko Igbo Forum Nigeria, noted that although the movement originated in the South East, membership was spreading rapidly across Nigeria and among Nigerians in the diaspora.

“Within a week of opening our platform, more than 570 people from different parts of Nigeria and abroad joined the movement.

“We have people joining from Germany, South Africa, the UK, the US, Lagos, Kaduna and other places,” he said.

He added that the movement is not intended to replace existing political support groups, but to complement their efforts through physical grassroots engagement rather than social media campaigns.