Ogun State Governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun, on Thursday inaugurated the All Progressives Congress (APC) Campaign Council for the 2027 general elections, directing members to commence consultations and grassroots mobilisation immediately across the state.
Abiodun, who is Chairman of the Campaign Council, gave the directive at the inauguration held at the June 12 Cultural Centre, Kuto, Abeokuta, charging members to take the party’s message to every part of the state.
He said the inauguration marked a new phase in the APC’s preparations for the 2027 elections and urged members to immediately begin consultations and sustained engagement with voters across the 20 local government areas, 236 wards and polling units in the state.
“Let consultations and campaign now begin,” the governor declared, urging members to take the APC message to markets, farms, workplaces, religious communities, professional associations, neighbourhoods and homes.
He stressed 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.
Abiodun directed the council to work for the success of all APC candidates, including President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the party’s governorship candidate, Senator Solomon Olamilekan Adeola, popularly known as Yayi, his running mate, Mrs Kudirat Abiodun Balogun, as well as the party’s candidates for the Senate, House of Representatives and State House of Assembly.
The governor said electoral victory was not achieved merely through political reputation or the size of rallies, but through what he described as “scientific, deliberate and intentional preparation, organisation, vigilance and sustained engagement with the electorate.”
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 underscored the importance of placing 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 comprised party leaders, strategists, professionals and grassroots organisers drawn from the three senatorial districts, with committees covering strategy, mobilisation, reconciliation, finance, security, media, youth and women engagement, welfare, transportation, digital communication, protocol, and traditional and religious affairs.
He cautioned members against treating their appointments as mere titles, stressing that membership of the council carried responsibilities requiring discipline, strategic thinking and humility.
“These appointments are not decorative titles. They are instruments of service and responsibility,” he said.
The governor also charged the campaign organisation to effectively communicate the achievements of his administration in infrastructure, education, agriculture, healthcare, security, investment promotion and social intervention.
He identified the Gateway International Airport as central to the state’s vision of developing an integrated aviation, agricultural, industrial and logistics hub, while noting that other interventions had contributed, in the administration’s assessment, to improving the business environment and strengthening Ogun’s position as an 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, however, warned that achievements could be misunderstood if they were not properly communicated, urging the campaign council to respond to 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 further directed the campaign organisation to operate as one coordinated political machinery, with its leadership providing direction, committees translating strategy into action and grassroots structures sustaining engagement with voters.
He warned against factionalism, indiscipline and sabotage, urging members to establish effective reporting mechanisms, identify challenges early and resolve emerging issues promptly.
The APC governorship candidate, Adeola, called on party members across the state to regard the 2027 election as a collective responsibility.
He assured members whose
names were not included in the campaign council that they remained part of the party’s broader mobilisation structure.
According to him, the council was established to provide coordination and direction rather than exclude other party members. He therefore urged APC members to remain active in their respective wards and local government areas.
Adeola 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.
He said the party would provide the necessary coordination and support to strengthen mobilisation across the state, while urging members to remain united and focused on the common objective.
The governor 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.
Abiodun 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; Balogun; Director-General of the Campaign Council, Senator Lekan Mustapha; and other party leaders.
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 “sheathe their swords” and work for the party, assuring them that their contributions would not be in vain.
He urged party members to place the interests of the APC above personal grievances and ensure that the campaign council remained focused on its mandate.
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.
