Politics
Ogun 2027: Unity Tops Agenda As Abiodun Inaugurates APC Campaign Council
Ogun state Governor, Dapo Abiodun has charged members of the State Campaign Council of the All Progressives Congress (APC) to embrace unity, which he registered , is not the absence of differences”but the wisdom to ensure our differences do not become greater than our common cause,”
The governor made the charge in Abeokuta on Thursday, while inaugurating the state’s campaign council of the APC, even as he directed the campaign organisation to operate as one coordinated political machinery, with leaders providing direction, committees translating strategy into action and grassroots structures sustaining engagement with voters.
He warned against factionalism, indiscipline and sabotage, stressing the need for proper reporting, early identification of challenges and prompt resolution of emerging issues.
The Governor also urged members to immediately commence consultations, grassroots mobilisation and sustained engagement with voters across the state.
Abiodun, who is the Chairman of the Campaign Council, said the inauguration marked the beginning of a new phase in the party’s preparations for the 2027 general elections.
He directed members to translate the council’s organisational structure into effective action across the state’s 20 local government areas, 236 wards and polling units.
The governor charged the council to work for the success of all APC candidates, including President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the party’s governorship candidate, Senator Olamilekan Adeola, popularly known as Yayi, his running mate, Alhaja Kudirat Adegunwa-Balogun, as well as the party’s candidates for the Senate, House of Representatives and State House of Assembly.
Speaking further Abiodun directed members to hold their inaugural meeting immediately and commence consultations and campaign activities without delay.
The governor said elections were not won merely through political reputation or the size of rallies, but through “scientific, deliberate and intentional preparation, organisation, vigilance and sustained engagement with the electorate.”
He urged members of the campaign council to take the APC message to markets, farms, workplaces, religious communities, professional associations, neighbourhoods and homes, stressing that effective mobilisation must involve listening to the people and understanding their concerns.
“Our campaign must be based on ideas, achievements and a credible vision.
“We must reach every Local Government Area, ward, polling unit and community,” he said.
He called for unity and discipline within the party, saying the ability of the APC to manage competing interests during the processes that produced its candidates demonstrated the importance of putting the collective interest above individual considerations.
“Unity is not the absence of differences. It is the wisdom to ensure that our differences do not become greater than our common cause,” he said.
Abiodun said the campaign council brings together party leaders, strategists, professionals and grassroots organisers from across the three senatorial districts, with committees responsible for strategy, mobilisation, reconciliation, finance, security, media, youth and women engagement, welfare, transportation, digital communication, protocol, as well as traditional and religious affairs.
He cautioned members against treating their appointments as mere titles, saying membership of the council carried a responsibility requiring discipline, strategic thinking and humility.
“These appointments are not decorative titles. They are instruments of service and responsibility,” he said.
The governor charged the campaign organisation to effectively communicate the achievements of his administration in infrastructure, education, agriculture, healthcare, security, investment promotion and social intervention.
He noted that the Gateway International Airport remained central to the state’s vision of developing an integrated aviation, agriculture, industrial and logistics hub, while other interventions had contributed to improving the business environment and positioning Ogun as a leading industrial and investment destination.
“These are not abstract promises. They are visible on our roads, in our schools and hospitals, in our agricultural communities and in businesses expanding across our state,” Abiodun said.
He warned that achievements could be misunderstood if they were not properly communicated, urging the campaign council to counter misinformation with facts, humility and clarity.
“Good work that is not effectively explained may be misunderstood, while falsehood repeated without challenge may begin to appear credible,” he said.
Abiodun also charged APC members to maintain issue-based and civil communication throughout the campaign, rejecting insults, violence and intimidation.
“Political victory loses its value when purchased at the expense of peace, because leadership cannot build upon the ruins of a divided society,” he said.
The governor expressed appreciation to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for his leadership and partnership with Ogun State through the Renewed Hope Agenda.
He also acknowledged the contributions of former Governors Olusegun Osoba, Gbenga Daniel and Ibikunle Amosun; former Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Ambassador Sarafa Tunji Isola; Deputy Governor Noimot Salako-Oyedele; APC State Chairman, Chief Yemi Sanusi; Adeola; Adegunwa-Balogun; Director-General of the Campaign Council, Senator Lekan Mustapha; and other party leaders.
The governorship Candidate, Adeola, in keeping with the governor’s call for an inclusive grassroots campaign, urged party members across the state to regard the 2027 election as a collective responsibility.
He assured that those whose names were not included in the campaign council that they remained part of the party’s mobilisation structure.
Adeola stressed that the campaign council was established to provide coordination and direction, rather than to exclude other members of the party, urging all APC members to remain active in their wards and local government areas.
He called for sustained consultations and grassroots engagement, urging party members to take the party’s message to communities and work collectively for all APC candidates, from the presidential election to the governorship and legislative contests.
Earlier, former Ogun State Governor and APC National Leader, Chief Olusegun Osoba, urged members of the party to close ranks, present a united front and work collectively for the success of the APC in the 2027 elections.
Osoba appealed to aggrieved members to “shield their swords” and work for the party, assuring them that their contributions would not be in vain.
Abiodun thereafter formally declared the campaign council inaugurated and charged members to commence work immediately towards the party’s objectives in the 2027 general elections.
“Let us speak with one voice, work with one purpose and march in one direction,” he said.
Lucky Aiyedatiwa, governor of Ondo, says the state remains firmly with the All Progressives Congress (APC), while insisting that he has no issues with Nyesom Wike, minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), or the rainbow coalition he is erecting.
Aiyedatiwa spoke on Channels Television’s ‘Politics Today’ on Monday while responding to questions about the cross-party coalition backing President Bola Tinubu’s 2027 re-election bid.
“In my state, it is APC all the way; that does not mean that I don’t have relationship with Wike. I don’t have any problem with Wike,” the governor said.
Aiyedatiwa said there is nothing wrong with the rainbow coalition, arguing that politics revolves around interests, relationships and alliances.
“Politics is about interests, relationships, alliances, if you like. So, rainbow coalition being led by His Excellency Honourable Minister Nyesom Wike, there is nothing wrong in having coalition or alliances; it’s all about interests, who wants to be part of that, you choose,” he said.
The governor likened the coalition to various support groups backing Tinubu’s re-election bid, saying there is nothing wrong with such a platform if its objective is to support the president.
“There is freedom of association of being a member of one group, coalition or another, just as we have a lot of support groups supporting the president,” he said.
“So, if rainbow coalition is also in form of a support group too for the president, what is wrong in that? Nothing.”
Aiyedatiwa, however, said his support for the APC in Ondo is not incompatible with his relationship with Wike or his view that political alliances were legitimate.
“In my state, it is APC all the way,” he stated.
Wike, a member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), said in January that his rainbow coalition represents a shift from conventional party politics towards a collective political movement focused on advancing the interests of the state.
However, the Progressive Governors Forum (PGF) said it would not endorse any alliance or political arrangements that could undermine Tinubu’s re-election bid or the party’s candidates in the 2027 elections.
Eight members of the Zamfara State House of Assembly have resigned from the All Progressives Congress (APC).
The lawmakers, including an ally of former Governor Abdul’aziz, said they decided to leave the party over insecurity, alleged injustice and other issues affecting the wellbeing of the people.
In a statement announcing their decision, the lawmakers said they could no longer remain in a political party which, according to them, had failed to provide adequate security for citizens.
They expressed dissatisfaction with what they described as the party’s inability to address challenges confronting the state, particularly the worsening security situation.
The lawmakers who resigned include Hon. Aliyu Ango Kagara, representing Talata Mafara South; Hon. Ibrahim Tukur Bakura, representing Bakura; Hon. Faruk Musa Dosara, representing Maradun I; and Hon. Barrister Bashir Abubakar Masama, representing Bukkuyum North.
Others are Hon. Muktaru Nasiru Kaura (Kaura North), Hon. Nasiru Abdullahi (Maru North), Hon. Bashar Bello (Bungudu West), and Hon. Bashar Aliyu (Gummi I).
Their resignation adds to the growing political developments within Zamfara APC, where internal disagreements and realignments have continued to shape the political landscape ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Report says the lawmakers did not immediately disclose their next political destination.
When contacted, the state APC publicity secretary, Hon. Ibrahim Danmadamin Birnin Magaji, said the party at the state level was yet to be officially notified.
“We are still waiting for their correspondence from their respective political wards after reaching their local government executives, which would later be forwarded to us,” Danmadamin said.
He added that the party had only seen the resignation letters on social media platforms like other members of the public.
“We all saw it on social media platforms, but whenever we receive the copies officially, we would communicate with you on our stand,” the party publicity secretary said.
Responding to questions on whether the development was linked to an internal crisis within the party, Danmadami said the APC was not aware of any grievances until it received copies of the resignation letters.
On their part, the resigned lawmakers accused Governor Dauda Lawal’s administration of failing to give adequate attention to insecurity affecting rural communities.
Kagara further said they decided to leave the APC because the party had failed to properly address insecurity and had allegedly turned down their earlier agreements.
“What we are challenging Governor Lawal’s administration about is even worse now compared to previous times, so we have seen no reason to continue remaining in the APC.
“Our constituents in rural areas who voted us into power to address their security concerns were not being given any attention,” Kagara said.
He also alleged that the lawmakers had gone for 32 months without receiving salaries, allowances and other benefits due to them as elected members of the state House of Assembly.
“This is our 32 months without salary, allowances and other entitlements as honourable members, and the people of Zamfara; the ball is in their court. Whether they enjoy what is happening or not, they are in the best position to take action and they need not to be told,” Kagara said.
A gubernatorial aspirant of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Gombe State, Khamisu Ahmed Mailantarki, has declared himself winner of the primary election conducted by the party.
The PDP had earlier on Tuesday conducted a rerun primary election, where Isa Ali Pantami was declared winner by Hon. Johnbull Tiemlong Shekarau-led Committee.
Addressing newsmen shortly after the election results were announced, Mailantarki declared that going by the supreme court judgement, Pantami shouldn’t have participated in the election.
“Therefore, having came second in the election, and going by the supreme court judgement which declared Pantami not eligible to contest the election, I believe that I am the winner of this primary election conducted today by our party.”
According to him, Pantami was still in the APC when they were cleared by the PDP screening committee to contest in the primary election earlier slated for May 26.
He said the election should have been contested by him and the third runner-up, Usman Aliyu Garry.
Mailantarki vowed to reclaim his mandate, even if it takes going through litigation in court.
He declared, “I am ready to go to court, even it if means going to the supreme court to reclaim my victory at the just concluded primary election.”
Recall that Mailantarki’s previous suit triggered the nullification of Pantami’s previous victory as a Federal High Court in Gombe annulled the previous exercise and ordered the conduct of a fresh primary, which held on Tuesday.
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