Former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, yesterday inaugurated state coordinators of the RiseUpNaija Movement (RUN), launching an ambitious drive to mobilise 20 million votes for his African Democratic Congress (ADC), presidential candidacy ahead of the 2027 general election.

The launch marked one of the clearest signs yet that Atiku’s campaign is shifting from coalition-building to grassroots mobilisation, with the movement unveiling an aggressive strategy to build structures from the national level down to every polling unit across the country.

The RiseUpNaija Movement comprises young men and women drawn from the All Progressives Congress (APC), Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Labour Party (LP), New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) and other political platforms.

Addressing the leadership retreat in Abuja, Atiku urged young Nigerians to reject vote-buying, defend the electoral process and vote for competence, saying his presidential ambition was driven not by the privileges of office but by a desire to build a nation where leadership is accountable, institutions are strong and opportunities are available to all.

“I stand before you today not merely as a former Vice President or an elder statesman, but as a lifelong democrat who has never stopped believing that Nigeria can become the great nation its people deserve,” Atiku said.

Describing young Nigerians as the country’s greatest asset, he argued that poor leadership had denied many of them the opportunities they deserved.

“I see brilliant young people leaving Nigeria, not because they have stopped loving their country, but because they no longer believe their country loves them back,” he said.

The former vice president also warned against vote-buying, insisting that active citizen participation would outweigh money politics.

He added: “If millions of young Nigerians participate peacefully, vote responsibly and defend the integrity of the process, no amount of money can overcome the collective will of the people. Your vote is far more valuable than any amount of money a politician can offer.”

Speaking afterwards, RUN Convener Kashim Ibrahim-Imam tasked the newly inaugurated coordinators with building a nationwide grassroots network capable of delivering victory for the ADC in 2027.

“Our target is to have 20 million active voters to deliver our candidate in 2027,” Imam declared.

He challenged the coordinators to intensify membership registration and establish structures across the country, announcing a one-month competition among states, with a special prize for the state that records the highest membership.

“We must have a presence in every polling unit. Our target is to have at least 100 members in every polling unit,” he added.

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The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) mopped up N7.18 trillion from the financial system through Open Market Operations (OMO) auctions in July, maintaining its tight monetary stance despite a sharp reduction in the number of auctions held that month.

The July liquidity withdrawal represented a 48.6 per cent decline from the N13.96 trillion sterilised in June, largely reflecting the CBN’s decision to hold only three OMO auctions, compared with seven in the preceding month.

However, the lower monthly total masked a shift in strategy, as the apex bank relied on fewer but significantly larger auctions to absorb excess liquidity.

An analysis of OMO auction results reported by Nairametrics yesterday showed that the CBN conducted auctions on July 13, July 14 and July 28, raising a cumulative N7.18 trillion.

By contrast, seven auctions held on June 2, 8, 11, 22, 23, 29 and 30 accounted for the record N13.96 trillion sterilised during that month.

The report showed that June witnessed an aggressive and sustained liquidity management campaign, with the CBN offering N600 billion at each of the seven auctions, for a total of N4.2 trillion. Investor demand remained exceptionally strong, with the subscriptions reaching approximately N15.27 trillion, while the apex bank allotted N13.96 trillion, representing about 91.4 per cent of total bids received.

The June 2 auction attracted the highest demand of the month, recording subscriptions of N2.15 trillion, out of which N2.01 trillion was allotted.

The June 8 sale posted the weakest demand, although subscriptions still stood at N1.73 trillion, with N1.51 trillion allotted.

The month ended with back-to-back auctions on June 29 and June 30. The June 29 exercise generated one of the strongest investor responses, while the June 30 auction was oversubscribed by more than three times the amount offered, resulting in an allotment of N1.52 trillion.

Overall, June recorded an average oversubscription ratio of 3.16 times the amount offered.

Although July featured fewer auctions, each exercise attracted substantially larger investor participation.

The CBN maintained its N600 billion offer size at each auction, bringing the total amount offered to N1.8 trillion, but average subscriptions rose to roughly four times the amount on offer.

The July 28 auction emerged as the most significant exercise during the review period, with the CBN allotting N3.5 trillion, making it the largest single OMO sale recorded so far this year.

Demand continued to be driven largely by the 127-day tenor, which dominated subscriptions throughout June and remained the preferred instrument in July. At the July 13 auction alone, the tenor attracted bids worth N1.854 trillion.

Stop rates during the period remained elevated, ranging from 20.39 per cent to 22.65 per cent. As in previous auctions, shorter-dated instruments cleared at higher rates than longer-tenor bills, reflecting sustained investor appetite for short-term yields amid the prevailing high-interest-rate environment.

The auction pattern indicates two distinct liquidity management approaches by the apex bank. While June relied on frequent market interventions spread throughout the month to withdraw liquidity, July achieved the same objective through fewer but much larger operations, signaling a more concentrated approach to liquidity sterilisation.