Yilwatda tasks Lagos APC leaders on unity, reconciliation as party targets 5m votes

The National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Prof. Nentawe Yilwatda, has urged party leaders in Lagos State to resolve internal differences and unite behind the party’s candidates ahead of the 2027 general elections, declaring that the state must not repeat the 2023 mistake.

Yilwatda, who acknowledged the party’s loss in the previous Lagos election, said the APC must intensify efforts to win the state in 2027, given its strategic importance and large voting population.

He spoke at the ongoing Lagos APC Campaign Council retreat, where the party set a target of five million votes out of the seven million projected for the state in the next general elections.

“We lost the last election in Lagos and that is why I am here. We have to deliver the state in this election. This is a must-do for us as members of the APC,” he said.

The national chairman said the retreat’s theme, “The Road to the Ballot: One Team, One Strategy — Building an Effective Campaign for Electoral Success,” underscored the need for unity, reconciliation and coordinated mobilisation among party members.

He urged leaders to put aside personal ambitions and grievances, stressing that the party could only achieve its electoral objectives if members worked together and supported candidates selected by the party.

Yilwatda specifically called for reconciliation with aggrieved members, saying those who felt overlooked or excluded should be given opportunities to air their grievances and participate in the party’s activities.

“All hands must be on deck for reconciliation. Reconciliation is necessary. Every member who feels overlooked and unheard, I say there should be room for reconciliation,” he said.

He also urged party leaders to strengthen their relationships with residents and communicate the benefits of President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, while warning that internal divisions could undermine the party’s chances at the polls.

The APC chairman’s appeal comes as the Lagos chapter intensifies preparations for the 2027 elections, with a polling unit-based mobilisation strategy designed to assign electoral responsibilities to party leaders and monitor their contributions.

The Lagos APC Chairman, Pastor Cornelius Ojelabi, announced the strategy, tagged Operation Deliver Your Polling Unit, saying the party would assign specific targets to local governments, Local Council Development Areas (LCDAs), wards and polling units.

Under the arrangement, party officials, elected representatives and political appointees at the federal, state and local government levels would be expected to mobilise voters and account for their performance.

Ojelabi said the initiative would enable the party to identify areas requiring additional mobilisation and assess the contributions of political leaders and stakeholders.

He disclosed that party chairmen across local governments and LCDAs had been directed to compile details of polling units associated with political leaders, elected representatives, appointees and other key stakeholders.

However, he said the assessment of polling unit performance would take into account voter turnout, local political dynamics and the peculiar challenges facing individual constituencies.

“With just 85 days to the elections, no time could be more appropriate for this strategic retreat,” he said.

Ojelabi urged party leaders to maintain a strong presence in their wards and communities, noting that political relevance depended on trust, accessibility and sustained engagement with residents.

“Politics is ultimately a local enterprise. It is built through relationships, trust, accessibility and the ability to mobilise people around shared interests,” he said.

He also charged members to set aside individual ambitions, communicate the party’s achievements and programmes, and sustain public confidence through responsible leadership and attention to residents’ concerns.