The Lagos State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has directed all its candidates for the 2027 general elections to remain in Nigeria until after the polls.
State chairman Cornelius Ojelabi announced the directive on Friday during the inauguration of the party’s PBAT/KOH Campaign Council at the APC secretariat on Acme Road, Ogba, Ikeja.
Ojelabi said candidates were expected to remain available to the campaign structure and work closely with its members as the party intensifies mobilisation across the state.
“To our candidates, cooperate with the campaign council and make yourself available. After today’s inauguration, no candidate is allowed to travel outside the country until after the general elections,” he said.
The chairman also cautioned party members against complacency, warning that opposition parties should not be taken for granted ahead of the 2027 elections.
He said APC members had resolved to put disagreements arising from the party’s primaries behind them and work together towards the elections.
Ojelabi said the campaign council had been structured to drive grassroots mobilisation across Lagos, with members expected to operate within senatorial districts, local government areas, wards and polling units.
The party, he said, was targeting five million votes from Lagos in the 2027 elections and would deploy what he described as an “Operation Man Your Polling Booth” strategy to achieve the target.
Current reports on the inauguration put the campaign council at 1,235 members and say its structure includes 20 directorates.
He urged members to conduct the campaign peacefully and avoid hatred, thuggery and violence.
The campaign council is headed by Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, while former Minister of State for Defence, Senator Musiliu Obanikoro, serves as Director-General. Deputy Governor and governorship candidate, Obafemi Hamzat, is the deputy chairman.
Speaking at the inauguration, Obanikoro said the 2027 election should not be treated as an ordinary political assignment.
He urged party members to put personal grievances and disappointments behind them, stressing the need for discipline, organisation, commitment and teamwork.
“We must work as one, speak with respect, engage in a coordinated manner and proceed as one,” Obanikoro said, adding that “unity must be our strength.”
Hamzat, in his remarks, urged APC members to campaign on the basis of what he described as the records and achievements of the party’s administrations at the state and federal levels.
He argued that political campaigns should be driven by facts, data and records rather than emotion.
Defending President Bola Tinubu’s re-election bid, Hamzat cited economic reforms, infrastructure projects, airport rehabilitation and efforts against terrorism and kidnapping as areas where he said the Federal Government had made progress.
He also defended the administration’s infrastructure programme against criticism from opposition parties, particularly concerning major road projects.
On Lagos, Hamzat said the state remained too important to be subjected to what he called “trial and error” in governance.
He claimed that Lagos accounts for about 33 per cent of Nigeria’s GDP and argued that the APC’s record in infrastructure, including the development of rail transport, should form part of the party’s campaign message.
Hamzat also urged APC supporters to mobilise voters at the grassroots, saying the party should seek between three and four million votes from Lagos out of the state’s registered voters.
He further called on party members to support Tinubu and other APC candidates contesting the Senate, House of Representatives and Lagos State House of Assembly elections.
Governance Advisory Council representative and former Deputy Governor Prince Abiodun Ogunleye also endorsed Hamzat, describing him as a competent candidate with experience in government.
“We have the sign of victory ahead of the poll. The next governor is very competent. He served in various capacities. He is a man of great character. He will not disappoint Lagosians,” Ogunleye said.
He urged party members to work cooperatively to secure victory for the APC.
Several senior party figures attended the inauguration, including Senators Wasiu Eshilokun, Idiat Adebule and Tokunbo Abiru; House of Assembly Speaker Mudashiru Obasa and his deputy, Monisola Meranda; former Finance Minister Wale Edun; Dr Yomi Finnih; Mrs Olayinka Oladunjoye; Asipa Kaoli Olusanya; Cardinal James Odunmbaku and other party leaders.
The inauguration marks a further step in the Lagos APC’s preparations for the 2027 general elections after the party unveiled its campaign structure earlier in the week. The structure brings serving and former political office holders into advisory and operational roles.
