…D’Gov seeks one million votes as party leaders urge grassroots mobilisation
By Duchess Ifeoluwa
Ondo State Governor, Hon. Lucky Aiyedatiwa, on Saturday inaugurated the All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential Election Campaign Council, directorates and sub-committees in the state, charging party members to unite and mobilise support for President Bola Tinubu’s re-election in 2027.
Aiyedatiwa, who chairs the campaign council, described the inauguration as a strategic step towards the forthcoming general elections, stressing that unity and coalition-building would be critical to the party’s electoral success.
He recalled that the APC’s emergence in 2015 was made possible by unity among different political interests, warning that the party’s status as Nigeria’s and Africa’s largest political party would not automatically guarantee victory without internal cohesion.
The governor said the 2027 elections would involve contests for the presidency, Senate, House of Representatives and state Houses of Assembly, urging members to work collectively to secure victory for the party at all levels.
“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.
Aiyedatiwa charged members of the campaign council to base their appeals to voters on the achievements of the Tinubu administration at the federal level and his government in Ondo State.
Highlighting his administration’s record, 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 argued that the policies, projects and programmes of the Tinubu administration provided the APC with issues to present to voters ahead of the elections.
“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 project, Aiyedatiwa said the initiative had been planned for years without previous presidents embarking on its construction, describing Tinubu as a leader willing to undertake major infrastructure projects.
The governor disclosed that the inauguration followed a directive issued to party leaders at the national level on Wednesday, October 14, to return to their respective states and replicate the presidential campaign structure.
He urged members of the council and its committees to take the campaign to every part of Ondo State, mobilise voters and explain the achievements of the Tinubu administration.
Also speaking, the Deputy Governor, Dr Olayide Adelami, called on APC members to intensify grassroots mobilisation, setting a target of one million votes for Tinubu in the state.
Adelami said achieving the target would require members to reach every household and community through house-to-house and street-to-street campaigns.
He urged women, youths, elders and other groups to participate actively in the mobilisation exercise, describing Tinubu as a visionary leader who fulfils his promises.
The deputy governor expressed confidence that the President would provide the necessary resources for the campaign and urged party members to return to their constituencies to mobilise support.
Similarly, the Chairman of the Governor’s Advisory Council, Dr Pius Akinyelure, expressed confidence in the party’s prospects, attributing the large turnout at the inauguration to 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, Kolawole Babatunde, charged members of the campaign committees to reach every part of the state, engage residents and mobilise voters.
Babatunde expressed confidence that the party would achieve its electoral target, citing its performance at both the 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.
He said the Federal Government’s Renewed Hope Agenda and Aiyedatiwa’s administration shared a focus on public welfare, citing the Conditional Cash Transfer programme and student loan scheme at the federal level alongside grants and scholarships available to students in Ondo State.
The state chairman commended Aiyedatiwa for strengthening party unity and providing leadership and support for the APC structure ahead of the general elections.
In their goodwill messages, Senator Remi Okinrinboye, Chief Olusola Oke and Senator Tayo Alasoadura commended Tinubu’s economic reforms and expressed confidence that Ondo residents would vote massively for the President’s second term.
They urged party leaders and members to work towards securing at least one million votes for Tinubu and ensuring victory for all APC candidates in the state.
In his acceptance speech, the Director-General of the campaign council, Victor Olabimtan, praised Tinubu’s efforts to improve the country and thanked Aiyedatiwa for his support.
Olabimtan urged party members to actively canvass support for the President’s re-election, expressing optimism that Ondo State could surpass its previous vote total for the APC.
Those present at the inauguration included the National Vice Chairman (South West) of the APC, Hon. Isaacs Kekemeke; 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 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.
