The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Lagos State has intensified preparations for the 2027 general elections, with a renewed focus on party unity, reconciliation and grassroots mobilisation.
At a special stakeholders’ meeting tagged “Stronger Together, Greater Lagos,” the party brought together members of the Governance Advisory Council (GAC), 2027 candidates, council chairmen, cabinet members, party leaders and other stakeholders.
The meeting focused on reconciling aggrieved members, strengthening internal unity and developing strategies to secure at least three million votes for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in Lagos.
The state APC chairman, Pastor Cornelius Ojelabi, said the party must learn from its disappointing performance in the 2023 presidential election and work differently ahead of 2027.
He said the party had established reconciliation committees across the three senatorial districts and urged aggrieved members, leaders and aspirants to cooperate with the committees.
Ojelabi also stressed the importance of grassroots mobilisation, saying the party needed at least 15 canvassers in each of the 13,325 polling units across the state.
He urged party candidates and leaders to work closely with council chairmen, market leaders, religious groups, youths and women, while appealing to members to put the party’s interests above personal differences.
Lagos Deputy Governor and APC governorship candidate for 2027, Obafemi Hamzat, also called for stronger grassroots engagement, urging party members to work with religious and traditional institutions, market leaders, community development associations and ethnic groups.
Hamzat said the APC had not done enough to mobilise its supporters to polling units in previous elections and urged members to begin campaigns at the ward and polling-unit levels.
He also called for an end to divisions between the Justice Forum and Mandate Group, insisting that the two groups had no philosophical differences that should prevent them from working together.
According to him, the party must engage opinion leaders, churches, mosques, markets and communities if it hopes to achieve its electoral target.
Hamzat further urged the party to campaign on the achievements of the Tinubu administration, particularly in the areas of economic stabilisation and security.
Chairman of the GAC, Prince Tajudeen Olusi, described reconciliation as a continuous responsibility and acknowledged that some aggrieved members had legitimate grievances.
He urged party leaders to intensify efforts to resolve internal disputes, stressing that the APC must not lose its polling units and wards.
The Director-General of the 2027 APC Campaign Organisation, Senator Musiliu Obanikoro, said the party’s declining electoral fortunes in Lagos required a new campaign structure.
He disclosed that the campaign organisation had devolved greater responsibilities to the senatorial and local government levels, while the state structure would focus mainly on supervision.
According to Obanikoro, four campaign structures had been created for Lagos East, Lagos Central, Lagos West 1 and Lagos West 2, with nine directorates operating at senatorial and local government levels.
The party also plans to appoint ward coordinators and establish polling-unit committees to strengthen its grassroots operations.
Obanikoro expressed confidence that the new structure would produce a record-breaking result for the APC in Lagos and make the state’s performance an example for the rest of the Southwest.
The meeting was attended by members of the Lagos State House of Assembly, House of Representatives and Senate candidates, 57 council chairmen, GAC members, reconciliation committee members, members of the State Executive Council and other party stakeholders.
However, interim reports from the reconciliation committees indicated that some local government areas still require further efforts to resolve internal disagreements ahead of the election.