All Progressives Congress leaders in Abeokuta North Local Government have launched their campaign structure for the 2027 general elections, urging committee members to work in close coordination and take collective responsibility for delivering victories across the ballot.
At the inaugural meeting of the campaign organisation on Wednesday, the APC local government chairman, Alhaja Faidat Sarumi Akintunde, addressed the chairmen, deputies and secretaries of the various committees. She said the party’s electoral prospects would rest on the dedication, organisation and individual contributions of all those assigned campaign duties.
Akintunde voiced confidence that the party could prevail, telling members that she believed the APC would win the approaching election and that the outcome was in the hands of everyone attending the meeting.
She instructed every committee chairman to forward a proposed budget to the campaign committee’s Director-General for examination and approval. Each department, she said, had specific assignments that would require sufficient financial backing.
The chairman said preparations must cover strong voter mobilisation, security, transport and welfare arrangements when ward-by-ward campaigning begins throughout the local government area.
“Once the ward-to-ward campaign starts, ward chairmen and the advance team will face substantial tasks,” she said. “We have to mobilise properly in every ward, and security must be robust.”
Akintunde praised the choice of a former area commander to lead the security committee. She directed the committee to send letters to every Divisional Police Officer in the area before campaign activities commence.
She asked the mobilisation committee to make food available to campaign workers and participants, while also calling for an ambulance and first-aid provision at campaign events.
The transport committee was tasked with securing no fewer than 10 buses. Ori-Omi will serve as the standard assembly point for campaign movements, she said.
Akintunde also appealed to non-indigenes living in the area to join campaign efforts and advocate for APC candidates wherever they travel. She said she remained hopeful that the party would ultimately win.
The Osi Egba, High Chief Bode Mustapha, congratulated those appointed to the committees and said they must prove worthy of the confidence placed in them by the party leadership.
“Much is expected from those who have been given much,” Mustapha said. “We believe all of you are capable, and the people who chose you have made a sound decision. Elections offer no silver medal; it is either gold or nothing.”
He said the expectations of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Senator Solomon Olamilekan Adeola, known as Yayi, Senator Shuaib Afolabi Salisu, Hon. Olumide Osoba and Prince Babatunde Tella in Abeokuta North were substantial, particularly regarding the number of votes to be delivered.
Mustapha warned members not to view campaign resources as funds for private distribution. He urged them to show leadership rather than act as bosses, preserve unity and ensure that no group was excluded.
“The assignment and any funds released are not meant to be shared,” he said. “I want everyone to lead, not to become bosses. Carry everybody along, and do not stop until we have delivered all five elections.”
The Commissioner for Forestry, Hon. Taiwo Oludotun, similarly appealed for unity and continuing mobilisation. He said the APC must not merely secure victory in 2027, but should win by a decisive margin.
Oludotun noted that Abeokuta North contains 16 wards and said the party’s vote total would matter for future political demands, including a possible request for an additional state constituency.
“This election is important if we intend to press for something later,” he said. “A large vote will support a demand for another state constituency. That is why we must win overwhelmingly.”
He told members not to be sidetracked by reports that Peoples Democratic Party candidates had been left off a list issued by the Independent National Electoral Commission. Instead, he said, the campaign organisation should focus on explaining the APC’s record in government and its case to voters.
Prince Babatunde Tella, the APC candidate for the Abeokuta North House of Assembly seat, set out plans for an organised ward-level campaign and consultations with traditional rulers, Muslim communities, artisans and other stakeholder groups.
Tella said the campaign timetable had already received approval. The committee would align its itinerary with the schedules of other APC candidates, he added, in order to prevent overlaps and increase participation.
He highlighted the importance of political messaging, asking the media team to determine the concerns in each ward and produce communications tailored to residents’ needs.
“Our advantage is that we are the governing party, and residents can see what has been accomplished in the wards,” Tella said. “Those achievements will form part of our campaign.”
He said materials such as calendars and exercise books were being prepared for distribution, while liquid soap was also being produced for ward visits.
Solar streetlights have already been installed in certain wards, he said. Boreholes and other community projects are also expected to be included in the party’s campaign engagements.
Earlier, Dr. Lanre Biobaku, chairman of the Abeokuta North Media and Publicity Campaign Committee, said the body had organised its work through subcommittees responsible for communication, strategy, creative work, broadcasting, print, new media, film and multimedia, welfare, the secretariat and other support functions.
Biobaku said the communication, strategy and creativity units would investigate residents’ priorities and compile evidence of the party’s achievements, allowing candidates to present their programmes more effectively during campaign stops.
He said mechanisms had also been created to counter attacks on social media and to oversee campaign communications, with the aim of avoiding inconsistent or damaging messages.
“We have set aside 17 weeks for the assignment,” Biobaku said. “The committees were asked to operate without funding for the first two weeks so we could assess what they could accomplish. I am pleased to say our campaign theme is 5G, because we intend to score five goals, from the presidency through to the House of Assembly.”
All subcommittees have received designated duties, he added, and their work will be assessed as preparations continue so that shortcomings can be addressed.
The campaign Director-General, Hon. Taofeek Olabode, known as Talent, called on committee members to function as one team. He said unity, commitment and clear communication would be vital to meeting the campaign’s goals before the 2027 polls.
Talent said campaign success would largely depend on whether the committees and subcommittees could cooperate, exchange ideas and align their activities behind a shared objective.
He urged members to set aside personal disagreements and put the campaign’s wider interest first, saying every unit had an important part to play in promoting APC candidates and expanding the party’s presence across Abeokuta North Local Government Area.
Akeem Sumonu, chairman of the finance committee, also asked all committee heads to send their budgets to the Director-General’s office for review and appropriate action.
Akintunde subsequently set Friday, 23 October 2026, as the deadline for the submission of proposed budgets, directing all committees to comply so that planning and resource distribution could proceed properly.
The meeting marked the formal activation of Abeokuta North APC’s 2027 campaign machinery, with leaders placing committee coordination, disciplined spending and ward-level mobilisation at the centre of their strategy.
