News
Tinubu Support Group Is a Platform for Restoring Hope to the Hopeless — DG
Joel Ajayi
The Director-General of the Tinubu Support Group (TSG), Dr Umar Yakassai, has described the organisation as a platform created to give hope, access and recognition to Nigerians and support groups that may otherwise have limited access to government.
Yakassai stated this on Thursday when he led a delegation of the group on a visit to the Raw Materials Research and Development Council (RMRDC) headquarters in Abuja.
He said TSG was established with the support and permission of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and had played a significant role in mobilising support for the President’s political ambition.
According to him, the group coordinated more than 5,000 support groups during the 2023 presidential election and has continued to register and coordinate additional groups since then.
He explained that TSG had expanded its role beyond political mobilisation by providing a platform through which support groups could gain access to government institutions, obtain accurate information and communicate the achievements and challenges of the administration to Nigerians.
“TSG is a platform to give hope to those who do not have hope, to give access to those who do not have access and to give recognition to those who do not have recognition,” Yakassai said.
He said the group’s visit to RMRDC was part of efforts to obtain firsthand information on the achievements and challenges of government agencies implementing President Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.
Yakassai noted that while support groups often highlighted government achievements, it was equally important to understand the challenges confronting agencies and the factors responsible for them.
He commended the RMRDC management under Prof. Nnanyelugo Martin Ike-Muonso for what he described as significant transformation of the Council and efforts to promote raw materials development, value addition and industrialisation.
He said TSG would use verified information obtained from government institutions to properly educate Nigerians about the impact of the administration’s policies and programmes.
Yakassai stressed that governance was a continuous process, adding that every administration was expected to build on existing achievements while addressing emerging challenges.
He expressed appreciation to the RMRDC management for receiving the delegation and providing the group with an opportunity to understand the Council’s activities and contributions to the Renewed Hope Agenda.
In his addressed, the Director-General/Chief Executive Officer of the Raw Materials Research and Development Council (RMRDC), Prof. Nnanyelugo Martin Ike-Muonso, has reaffirmed his support for the All-Progressives Congress (APC), describing himself as a legacy member of the party.
He said he and members of his management team had remained committed to the APC and had supported the party even when doing so was politically challenging in parts of the country.
“I am a legacy APC member. We did not jump into the APC, neither were we conscripted into the party. We chose to become members and have never left,” he said.
The RMRDC boss said his appointment by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu had increased his responsibility to deliver measurable results in support of the administration’s Renewed Hope Agenda.
He said the Council had responded to the President’s call for Africa to stop exporting raw materials in their raw form and importing expensive finished products.
According to him, RMRDC pursued legislation mandating at least 30 per cent value addition to Nigerian raw materials before export.
Ike-Muonso said the policy would stimulate industrialisation, create jobs, attract investment and support President Tinubu’s ambition of building a $1 trillion economy.
He added that processing raw materials locally would create opportunities across production, manufacturing, packaging and marketing, while ensuring that more economic value remained within Nigeria.
News
Cyclists, Athletes, Fitness Communities others Set for 5th Chaingang MTB Festival in Abuja
By Joel Ajayi
Cyclists, professional athletes and fitness enthusiasts are set to converge on Abuja for the 5th edition of the Abuja Chaingang Mountain Bike (MTB) Festival and 10th year anniversary of the the club scheduled for November 21–22, 2026, in the Federal Capital Territory.
Speaking at a press conference in Abuja on Friday, Chairman of the MTB Festival Organising Committee, Mr Olatunji Olanrewaju, said the event would mark a significant milestone in the development of competitive cycling in Nigeria.
Organised by the Chaingang Cycling Club Abuja in collaboration with the Cycling Federation of Nigeria (CFN), the festival will introduce Cross-Country Short Track (XCC) and Cross-Country Olympic (XCO) race courses, alongside the unveiling of the Sunrise Hills MTB Course in Asokoro, bordering Guzape.
The organisers said the new courses feature natural terrain, steep climbs, rocky descents, switchbacks and panoramic ridgelines designed to challenge riders and promote competitive mountain biking.
The festival, adopted as Nigeria’s national qualifier for international mountain biking competitions, will provide cyclists with opportunities to compete for qualification slots for major championships, with prize money available across race categories.
Olanrewaju disclosed that the festival had attracted several cycling teams over the years, including foreign participants in almost every edition, expressing optimism that the 2026 event would attract even greater participation.
He called on sponsors, government agencies, security institutions and multinational organisations to support the festival, noting that their participation would help strengthen Nigeria’s outdoor sports industry and enhance the country’s international sporting profile.
Also speaking, the Technical Director of the Cycling Federation of Nigeria, Bashiru Mohammed, described the festival as an important platform for developing cycling and strengthening the country’s cycling community.
Mohammed said the competition was open to cyclists and cycling groups across Nigeria and beyond, adding that the organisers would share information about the event with international partners to encourage wider participation.
He explained that the professional races would feature male and female competitors in the XCC and XCO categories, while the programme would also include activities for children.
According to him, the competition would help Nigerian cyclists prepare for next year’s championship for emerging countries, which he likened to an Olympic-style gathering of athletes from different sporting disciplines.
In his remarked, the CFN Secretary-General of the federation, Joel Akinuwa, said prize money remained an important feature of the festival, noting that participants in the previous edition received financial rewards in addition to opportunities to qualify for the African Championships and other major international competitions.
Akinuwa added that winners across the various categories in the 2026 edition would also receive prize money, providing further motivation for cyclists to compete.
Beyond the elite races, the two-day festival will feature a trail run, children’s mountain bike race, veterans’ recreational ride, city-wide fitness ride and hiking campout.
The event will also incorporate corporate social responsibility initiatives, including the Jigakushi School Restoration Project and the Road Safety Street Mural Initiative, aimed at promoting community development and road safety awareness.
The organisers said the festival would bring together professional athletes, recreational cyclists, families, young people, fitness enthusiasts, media organisations and international observers, while promoting tourism, youth development and community engagement.
They added that the long-term vision was to position Abuja and Nigeria as leading mountain biking destinations in Africa, capable of hosting international competitions and attracting athletes from across the continent and beyond.
Registration for the 2026 Abuja Chaingang MTB Festival is ongoing through the club’s website, www.chaingang.ng.
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