The Lagos State chapter of the All Progressives Congress has vowed to prevent Peter Obi from repeating his 2023 presidential election victory in the state, declaring that the party has learnt from the defeat and is mobilising to secure President Bola Tinubu’s re-election in 2027.
The state APC Chairman, Cornelius Ojelabi, said the outcome of the last presidential election had served as a wake-up call for the ruling party, which is intensifying its mobilisation across states and local government areas ahead of the January 16, 2027 poll.
Ojelabi also backed the rainbow coalition being promoted by the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, saying political groups and stakeholders from different backgrounds were united by the goal of returning Tinubu to the Presidency.
Obi, the former Anambra State governor who contested the 2023 election on the platform of the Labour Party, defeated Tinubu in Lagos, his home state and the traditional stronghold of the APC.
Speaking in an interview with The PUNCH, Ojelabi said the party was taking nothing for granted despite being in power, adding that it was reaching out to voters to propagate the achievements of Tinubu’s administration.
He said, “We can see the seriousness the All Progressives Congress attached to the forthcoming general election. You can also see that most of the political activities taking place are centred around the APC. You can see our people moving from one state to another as well as from one local government to another.
“I am sure you can also see the number of support groups from different states and regions coming up to show their solidarity and support to the presidential candidate of the APC.
“For the mere fact that we are the ruling party, we are not taking that for granted. We are reaching out to the electorate and telling them what the Tinubu administration has achieved in the last three and a half years and the need to consolidate that.
“So, as I earlier said, we are not taking anything for granted. Let them (electorate) take ownership of the 2027 general election,” he said.
Asked about the strategies the Lagos APC had put in place to prevent a repeat of the 2023 outcome, Ojelabi expressed confidence that the party would perform better in the next election.
“Definitely, that will not happen again. What happened in the 2023 election only helped to strengthen us in the APC. This is because we know Lagos has remained the only state in the whole country that has been governed by only one political party since 1999.
“So, as I said, what happened in last year’s poll was a wake-up call. Wait and see the wonder that we are going to perform in the forthcoming January 16, 2027 election,” he said.
The APC chairman, however, declined to outline specific measures for stopping Obi, insisting that the party would focus on its performance in government and rely on voters to return Tinubu to office.
“Well, I am not from this political party. I am the chairman of the All Progressives Congress, and I want to concentrate on what our government has done for the good people of Lagos and how to reciprocate. And the only way by which they will reciprocate this is through their votes. So, wait and see what is going to happen,” he said.
