Lagos APC reaffirms its target of five million votes for President Bola Tinubu in 2027, with stronger grassroots mobilisation and accountability
Also read: 2027: KWAM 1 Seeks Hamzat’s Support for Daughter
Lagos APC chairman, Cornelius Ojelabi, said the target would require stronger grassroots mobilisation, strategic planning and greater accountability among party leaders.
Ojelabi spoke on Monday at a one-day retreat organised for party leaders and senior members of the PBAT-KOH Campaign Council in Lagos.
The retreat, themed, “The Road to the Ballot: One Team, One Strategy – Building an Effective Campaign for Electoral Success,” focused on strengthening the party’s preparations ahead of the 2027 elections.
“Our electoral target is clear and ambitious: five million votes out of the seven million votes we are targeting in Lagos State,” Ojelabi said.
He stressed that the figure should not remain a political slogan but must guide the party’s planning, resource allocation, mobilisation strategy and assessment of performance.
According to him, the APC believes the target is achievable because of its grassroots structures, political networks, membership base and longstanding presence across Lagos.
Ojelabi urged party leaders to convert those structures into effective voter engagement by identifying their constituencies, assessing weaknesses and regularly measuring progress.
He said every local government, Local Council Development Area, ward and polling unit should have clearly defined responsibilities and measurable targets.
The Lagos APC chairman also announced an initiative tagged “Operation Deliver Your Polling Unit”, aimed at linking the political responsibilities of party leaders and officeholders with measurable grassroots results.
He said the initiative would require party chairmen across local governments and LCDAs to compile details of polling units associated with political leaders, elected representatives, appointees and other stakeholders.
The exercise, he explained, would help the party monitor grassroots activities, identify areas requiring additional attention and assess political performance.
Those covered will include members of the National Assembly, federal and state appointees, members of the Lagos State House of Assembly, local government officials and party officers.
Ojelabi, however, said polling-unit performance must be assessed fairly, taking into consideration voter turnout, local dynamics, organisational strength and challenges peculiar to each constituency.
He urged party members to focus more on engaging residents than seeking political relevance through visits to party offices and influential individuals.
“Political relevance cannot be manufactured from the corridors of party offices. It must be earned through consistent engagement with the people, loyalty to the party and demonstrable commitment to grassroots development,” he said.
APC National Chairman, Nentawe Yilwatda, urged Lagos party leaders to resolve internal differences and unite behind the party’s candidates ahead of the 2027 elections.
Yilwatda said the retreat should serve as a reminder that individual ambitions must be subordinated to the collective interests of the party.
He described Lagos as strategically important to the APC because of its large voter population and acknowledged that the party lost the previous Lagos governorship election.
“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 also called for reconciliation with aggrieved members, urging the party to create room for those who felt overlooked or excluded to express their concerns.
He asked members to resolve disagreements through dialogue and support candidates selected by the party, even where individual reservations existed.
Yilwatda warned that internal divisions could weaken the APC’s prospects and stressed that the party must remain bigger than any individual.
Director-General of the PBAT-KOH Campaign Council, Senator Musiliu Obanikoro, said electoral success would require discipline, strategic planning and sustained engagement with voters.
He described the retreat as an opportunity for party leaders to align their objectives, identify weaknesses and develop coordinated campaign strategies.
Obanikoro urged participants to listen to one another, resolve disagreements and prioritise the collective interest of the APC.
The party’s Lagos governorship candidate, Dr Kadiri Obafemi Hamzat, also addressed participants on the seven pillars of the state government’s PROMISE agenda.
The retreat was attended by Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, members of the Governance Advisory Council, campaign leaders, directors and other APC stakeholders.
Also read: 2027: KWAM 1 Seeks Hamzat’s Support for Daughter
The Lagos APC leadership said the party’s focus would now be on translating its structures into measurable grassroots engagement as preparations for the 2027 elections intensify.
