The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Lagos State has formally launched its campaign for the 2027 elections, throwing its weight behind President Bola Tinubu’s bid for a second term and declaring his re-election a matter of national interest.
The campaign opened on Tuesday with an inter-faith prayer session at the Mobolaji Johnson Stadium in Onikan, bringing together Muslim, Christian and traditional worshippers. Prayers were offered for Tinubu, Lagos Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, the APC governorship candidate Obafemi Hamzat and other party candidates.
Top Lagos APC figures attended the event, including state chairman Cornelius Ojelabi, Governance Advisory Council leader Tajudeen Olusi, House of Assembly Speaker Mudashiru Obasa, former Speaker Yemi Ikuforiji, former Finance Minister Wale Edun, Senator Idiat Adebule and Senator Ganiyu Solomon.
Sanwo-Olu urged party members not to become complacent despite the confidence surrounding the campaign. He said the prayer was intended to seek divine direction before the party begins its wider political mobilisation across Lagos and the South-West.
“We are not taking anybody for granted. We have only asked God to give us direction. We will work, but we are also people of faith,” the governor said. He pledged to take the campaign into communities across Lagos and the South-West in support of Tinubu and the party’s candidates.
Hamzat also expressed confidence in the APC’s chances, saying the party had placed its campaign in God’s hands. He called for peaceful elections and specifically prayed for Tinubu, his wife Oluremi, Sanwo-Olu and other APC candidates contesting Senate, House of Representatives and state assembly seats.
Campaign chairman Musiliu Obanikoro warned that internal divisions could pose a greater threat to the party than its political opponents. He urged members who had competed for party tickets to put aside grievances and work together, stressing that political positions were temporary while relationships and society endured.
Obanikoro also endorsed Tinubu’s re-election, arguing that the President had demonstrated the ability to govern Nigeria’s diverse and complex society. The campaign’s Inter-Faith Committee chairman, Oyinlomo Danmole, similarly highlighted government programmes targeting students, young people and businesses, including the Nigerian Education Loan Fund and infrastructure initiatives.
The event ended with renewed calls for unity and violence-free elections. Methodist Bishop Stephen Adegbite praised Lagos for its religious coexistence and expressed confidence in Hamzat’s governorship ambition, as the APC begins its push towards the 2027 general elections.
