Ondo State Governor, Lucky Aiyedatiwa, on Saturday inaugurated the state All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential Election Campaign Council, directorates and sub-committees, charging members to unite and mobilise support for President Bola Tinubu’s re-election in 2027.
Aiyedatiwa, who chairs the campaign council, described the inauguration at the International Culture and Event Centre, The Dome, Akure, as a strategic step towards the general election.
He said unity and coalition-building, which brought the APC to power in 2015, remained crucial to its electoral success, warning that the party’s status as Nigeria’s and Africa’s largest political party would not guarantee victory without internal cohesion.
The governor said the elections would involve the President, senators, members of the House of Representatives, governors, except in three states, and members of state Houses of Assembly.
“As large or as big as we are, if we are not together, it will be difficult to win election. That is why it’s very, very important that we must remain united,” he said.
Recalling the APC’s formation in 2014, Aiyedatiwa said the alliance involving the New PDP, Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), Action Congress of Democrats (ACD) and other legacy parties enabled the progressives to defeat the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in 2015.
He urged party members to learn from the divisions that produced factions within the PDP, warning that internal disagreements could jeopardise the APC’s chances, particularly in Ondo State.
“We must learn from that, particularly here in our state. We must all work together,” he said.
Aiyedatiwa said retaining power was essential to protecting the interests of party members and their communities, urging them to work collectively towards victory.
“It’s only when we retain power, that is when your own individual interests and your community interests can be met. All of us must work together,” he said.
He urged the campaign council to base its appeal on the achievements of the Tinubu administration and his government in Ondo State.
Listing his administration’s achievements, the governor cited regular payment of salaries, training of graduates, construction of roads and bridges, provision of equipment for government hospitals and health centres, construction of schools and support for educational institutions.
He said Tinubu’s policies, projects and programmes had provided the party with compelling issues to present to voters.
“The President has made the job easy for us by those reforms,” he said.
On petrol subsidy removal, Aiyedatiwa recalled that all presidential candidates had promised during the 2023 election campaigns to scrap the subsidy. He said Tinubu had fulfilled the promise and was deploying the resulting savings to projects intended to benefit the majority of Nigerians.
Criticising politicians who had allegedly changed their positions on subsidy removal, the governor said the President’s reforms had enabled major 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 coastal highway, Aiyedatiwa said the project had been planned for years without any previous president daring to embark on it. He described Tinubu as a leader with the audacity, boldness, resources and confidence to undertake major projects.
He also recalled Tinubu’s record as Lagos State governor, particularly efforts to control the Atlantic Ocean, saying areas around Victoria Island had developed into what he described as Lagos Atlantic City.
On coastal erosion in Ondo State, Aiyedatiwa said his administration was working to tackle the Atlantic Ocean’s incursion, particularly in Ayetoro, where the persistent problem had affected the community and required federal intervention.
Expressing confidence in Tinubu’s support, he said, “We must tame the sea incursion at Ayetoro. And I know Mr President will help us to do that.”
Aiyedatiwa said the inauguration followed a directive issued to party leaders at the national level on Wednesday, 14 October, to return to their states and replicate the campaign structure.
He charged council members to take the campaign to every part of Ondo State, mobilise voters and explain the Tinubu administration’s achievements ahead of the 2027 presidential election.
“We have to go to every nook and crannies of our state. The job is ours, Mr President,” he said.
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