APC PCC visits Olubadan, Alaafin for royal blessings

The 2027 All Progressives Congress Presidential Campaign Council (APC PCC), led by its Director-General, Senator Abdulaziz Yari, on Thursday visited the palaces of the Olubadan of Ibadan, Oba Rashidi Ladoja, and the Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Akeem Owoade, to seek their respective royal blessings.

Speaking at the Oke Aremo Palace of the Olubadan, Yari said the visit was imperative, given the importance of the traditional institution in the country.

The former governor of Zamfara State added that the success of the council’s assignment required the input of traditional rulers through their prayers.

“This Council was inaugurated by President Bola Tinubu on Wednesday. Our first point of call is Ibadan. This shows how significant the ancient city is to the leadership of our party.

“Also, President Tinubu has mandated us to visit all the traditional rulers nationwide in the course of carrying out the responsibility bestowed on us, which is to deliver him as re-elected President of the Federation on 16th January 2027.

“We are relying on the traditional rulers to deliver on this assignment. The feat cannot be achieved without your blessings and prayers,” he said.

On the strategy adopted for electioneering, Yari said the council’s assignment had been made easier by Tinubu’s achievements across all sectors of the economy.

“We are going to campaign with the track records of President Tinubu’s achievements in office in the past seven years.

“We are going to campaign with what we have done. What we are going to do after being sworn in for the second term in office on May 29, 2027.

“Today, our economy is on the right path. This has been attested to by the survey conducted by the international community.

“All the projects started by the previous administrations in the country are receiving due attention from the present administration. While some have been completed, others are ongoing.”

On infrastructure, the former governor of Zamfara State said all six geopolitical zones had been turned into construction sites.

“Tinubu has made our jobs easy to sell APC and his candidature to return as President on 16th January 2027.”

Ladoja, in his address, thanked members of the campaign council for the recognition accorded to the traditional institution nationwide.

He lauded the contributions of the Tinubu-led administration to the country’s socio-economic growth over the past seven years.

Ladoja added that Tinubu would still enjoy the support of the people even if he contested as an independent candidate.

The monarch said his main takeaway from the inauguration of the council was the President’s charge that he should be delivered as a candidate, not as the sitting President.

“My takeaway from the event is what the President [said] to the Director-General: he has come not as the President but as a presidential candidate, and that it was our responsibility to deliver him. That is the key message I took away.”

In a sideline interview, the Chairman of the Niger Delta Basin Development Authority, Chief Barrister Boi Bosin Ebikeme, who represented the Chairman of Tantita Security Services, High Chief Government Oweizide Ekpemupolo, popularly known as Tompolo, at the event, said the PBAT Door-to-Door group had been formed to galvanise support for Tinubu’s re-election in 2027.

According to him, PBAT is an organic support group because its members are not merely moving from one state to another to mobilise support but have established structures across all 36 states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

“This means we are not relying on anybody else to generate support; we are doing the work ourselves.

“Beyond the state coordinators, we have coordinators in all 774 local government areas and across the 33 municipal councils in the FCT. We also have structures at the ward and unit levels, reaching people house to house, person to person, door to door, mosque to mosque, church to church and community to community.

“We have established the group to be inclusive, with ambassadors, coordinators, elders’ councils and youth bodies. We want to ensure that everybody can identify with the movement.

“The group is funded by the Grand Patron, who has committed his resources to ensuring that the initiative succeeds. We are not relying on anyone else to contribute even a kobo.

“That brings me to another point: we have purchased about 1,000 vehicles equipped with electronic equipment and the necessary logistics. Every local government area has a vehicle fitted with the equipment needed to communicate our message to people across the country.

“We have purchased more than 1,000 vehicles. In some states with about 30 local government areas, for instance, we have allocated approximately 38 vehicles to provide additional coverage and ensure that the message reaches more people.

“We believe that one good term deserves another. President Tinubu has been pragmatic and decisive. He is one president who, in my view, is difficult to come by in the history of Nigerian democracy because he has the courage to make difficult decisions and implement them.

“He is also an experienced politician who understands Nigeria’s political landscape.

“One of the states Nigerians can be proud of today is Lagos State, which has attained international recognition. President Tinubu played a significant role in its development, and he has brought that experience to the national level, introducing what I would describe as a Nigerian approach to governance and ensuring that Nigerians take ownership of their government.

“He should therefore be given the opportunity to continue implementing his reforms and consolidate on them so that Nigerians can enjoy their full benefits. As I said earlier, one good term deserves another.”