Rainbow Coalition : T.O.P set to host solidarity reception for Saliu Mustapha, Koko Jiya, Others

The Otoge Progressives (T.O.P), a coalition of prominent political leaders and stakeholders in Kwara State, has announced an ambitious plan to mobilise at least 400,000 fresh votes for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and other designated candidates in the 2027 general elections.

The group will formally launch the Kwara State Chapter of the National Rainbow Coalition, a novel multiparty political arrangement bringing together politicians, stakeholders and grassroots structures from different political platforms around a common presidential objective while allowing participating blocs to retain their respective political identities and pursue other electoral choices.

The coalition will be formally unveiled tomorrow, Wednesday, August 26, 2026, at the Open Field of the Lower Niger River Basin Development Authority (LNRBDA), Ilorin.

In what organisers describe as the beginning of a new model of grassroots political mobilisation, the event will also witness the inauguration of 20,000 verifiable polling-unit canvassers, each expected to cultivate and deliver at least 10 additional voters.

This was disclosed on Tuesday in a pre-event statement signed by the Chairman of the Local Organising Committee, Barrister Salman Jawondo, SAN.

According to Jawondo, the emerging political configuration ahead of 2027 demands a departure from the conventional winner-takes-all approach to politics, especially where political actors who may differ on local choices nevertheless share common ground on national leadership.

He said the National Rainbow Coalition is conceived precisely to accommodate such realities.

“The politics and electioneering of 2027 will be significantly different from what we have witnessed in previous electoral cycles,” Jawondo said.

“For the first time, we are building a special-purpose political vehicle that allows people from different political parties and tendencies to work together for a common presidential candidate without surrendering their identities or abandoning their legitimate choices for other elective positions.”

He added that the political parties, groups and stakeholders participating in the arrangement would be formally unveiled at Wednesday’s inauguration.

*20,000 Canvassers for 400,000 Votes*
At the heart of the initiative is what T.O.P describes as a deliberately measurable, verifiable and grassroots-driven mobilisation architecture.

Rather than relying principally on rallies, endorsements and elite declarations, the coalition said it intends to build its electoral strength from the polling-unit level upwards.

“More than 20,000 verifiable grassroots canvassers will be inaugurated and formally presented as the coalition’s mobilisation army for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and other designated candidates.”

Jawondo explained that the canvassers are not merely nominal members of a campaign structure. Each must first be a registered voter and must demonstrate sufficient influence within his or her immediate community to identify, persuade, nurture and mobilise at least 20 additional voters.

The arithmetic, according to the coalition, is deliberate: 20,000 canvassers multiplied by a minimum of 20 additional voters gives the movement a baseline target of 400,000 fresh votes.

The coalition said these would cut across different demographics, communities, professions, age groups and political tendencies. It also said this is in addition to the existing votebanks of the respective participating parties.

Beyond voter mobilisation, the canvassers are expected to serve as the grassroots interface between the coalition and communities across the state between now and the general elections.

They will take the coalition’s messages on good governance, political inclusion, peaceful elections, zero tolerance for violence and opposition to political godfatherism directly to voters at community and polling-unit levels.

According to Jawondo, the initiative represents a shift from the traditional politics of merely gathering crowds to what he called the politics of measurable electoral value.

The coalition believes this flexibility reflects the increasingly sophisticated nature of the Nigerian electorate, where voters do not necessarily vote for one political party from the presidential ballot down to the last elective office.

It also provides a political umbrella for stakeholders who remain committed to President Tinubu’s re-election but have taken different positions on the contests for governorship, Senate, House of Representatives and State Assembly seats.

The National Rainbow Coalition, Jawondo said, is therefore not intended to erase those differences but to organise them around areas of common interest.

*Solidarity Reception for Saliu Mustapha, Kolo Jiya, Others*
In perhaps the clearest demonstration of that philosophy, T.O.P also announced that Wednesday’s gathering will feature a special solidarity reception for members pursuing their political ambitions on platforms other than the All Progressives Congress (APC).

Among those to be honoured are Senator Saliu Mustapha, who represents Kwara Central Senatorial District, and Hon. Kolo Jiya, who are expected to contest forthcoming elections on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

Jawondo said the coalition understands the political circumstances surrounding the decisions of its members and is not only aware of their aspirations but is fully involved in their actualisation.

“Lest there be any confusion or deliberate misinformation, we state unequivocally that T.O.P is fully on board with the ambitions of our members who are aspiring on other political platforms,” he said.

“That is why our stakeholders will openly identify with them at the solidarity reception being held in their honour on the same day.

“We will demonstrate before the people of Kwara and Nigerians generally that Senator Saliu Mustapha, Hon. Kolo Jiya and our other members pursuing their aspirations on different platforms are not alone.

“We are together with them. We stand by them. We will campaign with them, mobilise with them and canvass votes for them.”

T.O.P said its emerging philosophy is built around shared national objectives, freedom of local political choice and collective pursuit of what its stakeholders consider the best interests of Kwara State.

Jawondo said the launch represents more than the inauguration of another political organisation.

According to him, it signals the beginning of a broader conversation about cooperation across party lines, the right of citizens to make independent choices across different ballot categories, and the possibility of building political consensus without demanding absolute conformity.

He said the Rainbow Coalition would provide a meeting point for people who may wear different political colours but share certain fundamental convictions about the future of the country and Kwara State.

The coalition, he added, would continue to expand its grassroots network in the months ahead, with its canvassers expected to engage voters directly and deepen the campaign across communities.

Jawondo consequently invited political stakeholders across party lines, community leaders, youth and women groups, professionals, artisans, supporters and interested members of the public to attend Wednesday’s inauguration and solidarity reception.

“This is bigger than the political differences that may exist among us, it is about finding common ground where common ground exists, respecting our differences where they exist, and coming together for the development of Kwara State, for posterity and for generations yet unborn,” he said.