By Dayo Johnson, Akure
Ondo State Governor, Hon. Lucky Aiyedatiwa, has inaugurated the state’s All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential Campaign Council, directorates and sub-committees for the 2027 general elections, warning members against internal wrangling.
Aiyedatiwa, who chairs the council, said the inauguration held in Akure was a strategic move to mobilise support for President Bola Tinubu’s re-election.
He said the unity and coalition-building that brought the APC to power in 2015 remains critical to its success, stressing that being Nigeria’s and Africa’s largest party alone would not guarantee victory without cohesion.
The governor noted that the 2027 polls will produce the President, senators, House of Representatives members, governors in most states and Houses of Assembly members.
“As large as we are, if we are not together, it will be difficult to win election. That is why it is very important that we must remain united,” he said.
Tracing the APC’s origin to 2014, Aiyedatiwa said the alliance of the New PDP, Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) and other legacy parties helped the progressives defeat the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in 2015.
He urged members to avoid the divisions that factionalised the PDP.
“We must learn from that, particularly here in our state. We must all work together,” he added.
He said retaining power was necessary to protect the interests of party members and their communities.
Aiyedatiwa urged the council to campaign with the achievements of the Tinubu administration and his government in Ondo State, listing regular salary payment, graduate training, road and bridge construction, equipping of hospitals and health centres, and school projects.
He said President Tinubu had made the party’s job easy through reforms.
Subsidy removal
On subsidy removal, Aiyedatiwa said all leading presidential candidates in 2023 promised to remove fuel subsidy, but Tinubu fulfilled it and is channelling savings into development projects.
“There is no government that has done what Asiwaju has done in the history of presidential ruling in Nigeria,” he said, citing the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway as a project conceived long ago but only embarked upon by Tinubu.
He also referenced Tinubu’s legacy in Lagos, including the Eko Atlantic City project that tamed the Atlantic Ocean.
On sea incursion in Ondo State, particularly in Ayetoro, Aiyedatiwa said his administration was working to address the challenge and expressed confidence in federal support.
“We must tame the sea incursion at Ayetoro. And I know Mr President will help us to do that,” he said.
He disclosed that the inauguration followed a directive from the national leadership on October 14 for states to replicate the campaign structure.
Deputy Governor, Dr. Olayide Adelami, urged members to intensify grassroots mobilisation to deliver one million votes for Tinubu in Ondo State through house-to-house campaigns.
Speaker of the Ondo State House of Assembly, Olamide Oladiji, said Ondo is known for winning elections and must sustain the record, while Chairman of the Governor’s Advisory Council, Dr. Pius Akinyelure, expressed confidence of a convincing victory beyond one million votes.
APC chair
In his welcome address, APC State Chairman, Kolawole Babatunde, said the campaign would be issue-based. He said the Aiyedatiwa administration has completed over 50 road projects with more than 50 ongoing, alongside student grants, scholarships and prompt payment of gratuities and pensions.
He compared the Federal Government’s Renewed Hope Agenda with the state’s welfare programmes, including cash transfers and student loan initiatives.
Senator representing Ondo North, Remi Okinrinboye, likened Tinubu’s reforms to surgery, saying temporary pain would lead to recovery and strength. Senator representing Ondo Central, Tayo Alasoadura, and Senator representing Ondo South, Olusola Oke, SAN, also pledged to mobilise for the one million-vote target.
Oke said Tinubu deserved re-election, citing the appointment of three substantive ministers from Ondo State, federal road improvements and the coastal road project.
his acceptance speech, the Director-General of the Campaign Council, Hon Victor Olabimtan, praised Tinubu’s efforts to make the country a better place.
While appreciating Aiyedatiwa, Olabimtan urged party faithful to support and canvass for Tinubu’s re-election, saying Ondo State could surpass its previous vote total.
The post 2027: ‘Being Africa’s biggest party not enough’ – Aiyedatiwa inaugurates Ondo APC presidential campaign council appeared first on Vanguard News.