The Coordinator of Obidient Connect and Director of Media and Communications at the Big Tent Coalition, Charles Odibo, has said the Obidient movement is building a formidable grassroots structure capable of converting the passion and enthusiasm of its supporters into electoral victory in the 2027 presidential election.
Odibo said Obidient Connect, which he described as an organisational backbone for the broader Obidient Coalition Movement, was deliberately designed to address what he identified as the lack of sufficient grassroots structure that undermined the movement's electoral ambitions in the 2023 general election.
In a statement made available to journalists on Thursday, Odibo said the initiative would organise and connect Obidient supporters across the country at the polling-unit level, create local volunteer networks, mobilise resources from Nigerians in the diaspora and strengthen citizen-led efforts to monitor and protect votes.
According to him, the platform would transform the political passion generated by the movement into a coordinated electoral machine ahead of the 2027 presidential poll.
“It is designed to map every Obidient to their polling unit, create local volunteer structures, engage diaspora Nigerians for funding, and protect votes through citizen-driven action.
“In short, it takes our passion and translates it into a structured, grassroots-driven electoral machine,” Odibo said.
The communications professional and political activist, who has had a career spanning decades in marketing and communications, including leadership roles in major Nigerian banks, stressed that presidential elections could not be won through social media campaigns alone.
He argued that the real contest for political power would be decided at the polling-unit level across the country.
“Elections are won at the 176,864 polling units across Nigeria, not on social media,” Odibo said.
Reflecting on the 2023 presidential election, the Obidient Connect coordinator said the movement possessed enormous public enthusiasm and volunteer energy but lacked the kind of nationwide structure required to effectively translate that momentum into electoral success.
“In 2023, we had unmatched energy, but not enough structure at the grassroots. Obidient Connect fills that gap,” he stated.
He said the organisation was being structured to build networks from one polling unit to another, with volunteers expected to play critical roles in voter mobilisation, election monitoring and the protection of results.
“It allows us to build polling unit-by-polling-unit networks that can mobilise voters, monitor elections, protect results, and ensure that certified polling unit results are transmitted to our own central portal in real time on election day,” Odibo said.
“That is how we will win the 2027 presidential election.”
Odibo further disclosed that Obidient Connect had been developed around five core operational features aimed at strengthening political organisation and participation among supporters of the movement.
According to him, the first feature is designed to map users directly to their respective polling units, thereby ensuring that supporters are properly identified and organised within their immediate electoral communities.
The second, he said, would enable members to register as polling-unit captains, coordinators or supporters, creating a broad network of volunteers capable of driving grassroots mobilisation.
Odibo added that the platform would also provide a channel for Nigerians in the diaspora to contribute financially to the movement's political activities, while another feature would offer secure communication channels for verified updates, voter education and coordination among members.
He said the fifth feature would enable the real-time capture and transmission of polling-unit results to a central portal on election day, as part of efforts to promote transparency and citizen participation in the electoral process.
The Big Tent Coalition media director maintained that the stakes in the 2027 election went beyond the emergence of a new set of political leaders, arguing that Nigeria was facing deep socio-economic and governance challenges requiring urgent intervention.
He cited multidimensional poverty, challenges in the education and healthcare sectors, infrastructure deficits, worsening insecurity and unemployment as some of the issues that should compel Nigerians to take a more active interest in the country's political future.
“With over 130 million people living in multidimensional poverty, collapsing education and healthcare systems, weak infrastructure, spreading insecurity, and record unemployment, 2027 should be more than the quest for changing leadership,” Odibo said.
“For us, it is about saving Nigeria from further decline and building a country that works for its people.”
Odibo said the success of the Obidient movement in 2027 would depend largely on its ability to move beyond online engagement and build a disciplined, verifiable and sustainable structure in communities across the country.
He urged supporters of the movement to embrace grassroots political participation, volunteerism and polling-unit organisation, insisting that the pathway to electoral success lies in building an effective presence where votes are cast and counted.
According to him, Obidient Connect represents an attempt to institutionalise the movement's support base and ensure that its political energy is backed by a functional electoral infrastructure capable of mobilising voters and defending their choices.
Odibo expressed confidence that with effective coordination, technology-driven mobilisation and sustained citizen participation, the movement could emerge as a major force in the 2027 presidential election.
