[NAN]The All Progressives Congress (APC), Lagos State, on Tuesday held a special stakeholder meeting to reconcile members and mobilise support ahead of the 2027 general elections.
The meeting, tagged “Stronger Together, Greater Lagos,” brought together members of the party’s Governance Advisory Council (GAC), 2027 candidates, council chairmen, cabinet members, party leaders and other stakeholders.
The stakeholders deliberated on reconciliation, unity, discipline and strategies to secure three million votes for President Bola Tinubu in Lagos in the 2027 presidential election.
In his address, Pastor Cornelius Ojelabi, Lagos State APC Chairman, said the meeting was specially convened because of its importance to the party’s preparations for the elections, with 151 days to the first election.
Ojelabi said the meeting was meant to strengthen the party, promote unity and enable members to contribute effectively to the party’s electoral success.
“Our dream is to contribute a minimum of three million votes to the basket of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in the 2027 election.
“You are, therefore, very special to the party and have important responsibilities to discharge,” he said.
Urging members to embrace discipline, unity and commitment, Ojelabi said the party must come first in all their activities.
“We must work together with unity of purpose. With unity of purpose, there is no mountain we cannot move,” he said.
Ojelabi said the party’s performance in the 2023 presidential election was disappointing, urging members to use the 2027 election to redeem its image.
Ojelabi said: “The process has started, and we have just 151 days to the first election.
“How prepared are we? What are we doing differently to bring about a meaningful change in our voting pattern? We want to see individual performance. It will no longer be business as usual.
He said the party had established reconciliation committees in the three senatorial districts and urged aggrieved members, leaders and aspirants to cooperate with them.
“We must demonstrate unity of purpose as we move towards the general election. If there is unity of purpose and commitment, we don’t need to stress ourselves before winning elections.
“We have a common goal, and that is to win massively. That is the essence of this meeting. Let us stop all the unnecessary divisions,” Ojelabi said.
He said the party required substantial grassroots mobilisation, particularly through canvassers and polling-unit agents, to achieve its electoral target.
According to him, the party needs at least 15 canvassers in each of the 13,325 polling units across the state.
Ojelabi also urged candidates to work closely with council chairmen and other stakeholders, including market leaders, religious groups, youths and women.
“Let us bond. Let us tolerate ourselves. Be a builder, not a destroyer. Control anger,” he appealed.
The chairman urged stakeholders to return to their respective councils and communicate the party’s message of reconciliation, unity and mobilisation to members and supporters.
Also speaking, Dr Obafemi Hamzat, State Deputy Governor and 2027 APC governorship candidate, stressed the need for unity and effective grassroots mobilisation.
“We must understand the pillars that win elections,” Hamzat said, urging members to work with religious and traditional institutions, market leaders, community development associations and ethnic groups.
“In Lagos politics, if you capture the religious bodies, you have 33 per cent hold. Of course, our traditional institutions are also key. CDAs are also very important.
“We have the number. If those people are part of the people that make up our canvassers, it is good. Let us leverage on what we have,” he said.
Hamzat said the party had not done enough to mobilise its supporters to vote, adding that getting more APC supporters to polling units would improve its electoral performance.
Decrying divisions between the Justice Forum and Mandate Group in the Lagos APC, Hamzat said there was no philosophical difference between the groups.
He urged party leaders and canvassers to visit churches, mosques, markets and opinion leaders, saying campaigns must begin at the grassroots.
“If we are not doing this, we are not campaigning. We must campaign at the polling units and ward levels, and a week to the election, we must be able to predict our votes.
“Go out and meet opinion leaders. We must campaign differently. If you are not talking to opinion leaders, we are joking,” he said.
Hamzat also urged the party to campaign with the achievements of the Tinubu administration, particularly in economic stabilisation and security.
Speaking, GAC Chairman, Prince Tajudeen Olusi, urged the reconciliation committees to intensify efforts to reconcile aggrieved members.
“This is where the job is. We should not deceive ourselves; some of the aggrieved have justified grievances.
“Let us beg them. Reconciliation is the task of everyone and it is a continuous exercise.
“Election is close, we have to work very hard. It is a very important election before us. Yoruba must support the re-election of Tinubu and we are confident he will win.
“Let us roll our sleeves and work. Our work is at the polling units and wards. It is ridiculous to lose our polling unit and ward,” Olusi said.
In his remarks, Sen. Musiliu Obanikoro, Director-General of the 2027 APC Campaign Organisation, said the party’s declining electoral fortunes in Lagos required a new campaign structure.
“That we have a declining electoral fortune in Lagos is not new. The best way to arrest that is to evolve a new structure to maximise our efforts as election is coming.
“The last election is not only a disappointment to the President, it is a disappointment to all of us and we must not allow a repeat,” Obanikoro said.
He said the campaign organisation had devolved more powers to senatorial and local government levels, with the state structure mainly responsible for supervision.
Obanikoro said four campaign structures had been created for Lagos East, Lagos Central, Lagos West 1 and Lagos West 2, adding that nine directorates would operate at senatorial and local government levels.
He said the party would also appoint ward coordinators and establish polling-unit committees to strengthen grassroots mobilisation.
“The kind of results we are going to record is going to be an envy in the Southwest. The least we can do is to get the maximum results and it will be record-breaking,” he said.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that chairmen of the reconciliation committees for the various divisions gave interim reports, indicating that some local government areas still required further reconciliation.
NAN reports that the meeting was attended by House of Assembly, House of Representatives,and Senatorial candidates; 57 council chairmen, GAC members, reconciliation committee members, state executive council members and other stakeholders.