Governor Lucky Orimisan Aiyedatiwa of Ondo State, on Saturday inaugurated the state’s All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential Election Campaign Council, directorates and sub-committees, charging members to unite and mobilise support for President Bola Tinubu’s re-election in 2027.
Governor Aiyedatiwa, who chairs the campaign council, described the inauguration as a strategic step towards the general election.
He said unity and coalition-building, which brought the APC to power in 2015, remain crucial to its electoral success, warning that the party’s status as Nigeria’s and Africa’s largest political party would not guarantee victory without internal cohesion.
The governor said the elections would involve those of President, senators, members of the House of Representatives, and members of state Houses of Assembly.
Governor Aiyedatiwa said retaining power is essential to protecting the interests of party members and their communities, urging them to work collectively towards victory.
“It’s only when we retain power, that is when your own individual interests and your community interests can be met.
“All of us must work together to achieve total victory,” he said.
He urged the campaign council to base its appeal on the achievements of the Tinubu administration and his government in Ondo State.
Listing his administration’s achievements, the governor cited regular payment of salaries, training of graduates, construction of roads and bridges, provision of equipment for government hospitals and health centres, construction of schools and support for educational institutions.
He said Tinubu’s policies, projects and programmes had provided the party with compelling issues to present to voters.
“The President has made the job easy for us by those reforms.
“There is no government that has done what Asiwaju has done in the history of presidential ruling in Nigeria,” he said.
Citing the coastal highway, Governor Aiyedatiwa said the project had been planned for years without any previous president daring to embark on it.
He described Tinubu as a leader with the audacity, boldness and confidence to undertake major projects.
Governor Aiyedatiwa said the inauguration followed a directive issued to party leaders at the national level on Wednesday, 14 October, to return to their states and replicate the campaign structure.
He charged council and committee members to take the campaign to every part of Ondo State, mobilise voters and explain the Tinubu administration’s achievements ahead of the 2027 general election.
Also speaking, the Deputy Governor, Dr Olayide Adelami, urged APC members to intensify grassroots mobilisation to secure one million votes for Tinubu in 2027.
He said the target depends on members’ commitment to reaching every household and community through house-to-house and street-to-street campaigns.
Adelami urged women, men, youths, elders and other groups to participate, describing Tinubu as a visionary leader who fulfills his promises.
He expressed confidence that the President would provide the necessary resources for the campaign and urged party members to return to their constituencies to mobilise voters.
On his part, Speaker of the Ondo State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Olamide Oladiji, urged APC leaders to work for Tinubu’s re-election, saying the state is known for winning elections and should sustain the record.
He called on party leaders and residents to return to their respective areas and work for a convincing victory.
Also, the Chairman of the Governor’s Advisory Council, Dr. Pius Akinyelure, expressed confidence that the APC would win convincingly, saying the large turnout at the inauguration showed members’ readiness for the electoral contest.
“We shall win and win convincingly. We shall make more than a million votes that we are now talking about. God will be with us all,” he said.
In his welcome address, the APC State Chairman, Hon. Kolawole Babatunde, charged the campaign committees to reach every part of the state, engage residents and mobilise voters, expressing confidence that the party would achieve its target based on its performance at state and national levels.
“Our campaign is going to be issue-based. We’ll be telling our people what we have done as a government,” he said.
Babatunde said the Federal Government’s Renewed Hope Agenda and Aiyedatiwa’s administration share a focus on public welfare, comparing the Conditional Cash Transfer programme and student loan scheme with grants and scholarships available to students in Ondo State.
He commended Governor Aiyedatiwa for strengthening party unity and providing leadership and support for the party structure ahead of the general elections.
In their goodwill messages, Senator Remi Okinrinboye, Chief Olusola Oke and Senator Tayo Alasoadura, commended the economic reforms of President Tinubu and declared the readiness of the people of Ondo State to vote massively for him for a second term in office.
They urged APC leaders and members to work towards securing at least one million votes for Tinubu and securing victory for all candidates of the party in the state.
In his acceptance speech, the Director-General of the Campaign Council, Rt. Hon Victor Olabimtan, praised Tinubu’s efforts to make the country a better place.
While appreciating Governor Aiyedatiwa, Olabimtan urged party faithful to support and canvass for Tinubu’s re-election, saying Ondo State could surpass its previous vote total for the party.
Those in attendance included the Secretary to the State Government, Dr Taiwo Fasoranti; former Deputy Governor, Otunba Omolade Oluwateru; Chairman of the APC Elders’ Forum, Senator Nimbe Farukanmi; members of the Ondo State House of Assembly; former legislators; APC chieftains; women and youth leaders; members of the State Executive Council; the Agbaka of Alagbaka, Oba Afolabi Obasuyi; political appointees and other dignitaries.
(vitalnewsngr.com)
