The APC in Ward 14, Abeokuta North Local Government, inaugurated polling-unit canvassers in Imala on Thursday, drawing party leaders, ward officials and community stakeholders who called for unity, continued voter contact and effective mobilisation at the grassroots.
Speaking to journalists, the APC chairman in Abeokuta North, Alhaja Faidat Sarumi Akintunde, urged the newly appointed canvassers to operate as a team and visit their respective polling units to build support for the party’s candidates.
She said their priority should be collective work across the ward to secure more votes for the APC.
Akintunde praised ward leaders and members for their involvement in party activities, saying the mobilisation campaign had been sustained largely by the dedication of APC supporters.
She reminded the canvassers that their responsibilities placed them at the centre of grassroots politics, asking them to recognise the influence they held within their polling units.
The chairman also directed them to stay in regular contact with registered voters in their areas and continue discussions with them before the election.
She said every person with a voter card registered to a polling unit should be contacted repeatedly throughout the mobilisation period.
Abiola Olukunle Moses, president of the Yayi Vanguard Empowerment Foundation and a leader in Ward 14, said the event reflected cooperation between residents and party members.
Olukunle said the large attendance was particularly encouraging, adding that community progress depended on people acting together.
He credited Senator Solomon Olamilekan Adeola, widely known as Yayi, with the road work now taking place in Imala. Residents, he said, had approached several administrations over the road’s poor condition.
Olukunle said residents and community representatives had sent many letters over the past 50 years seeking repairs, but Adeola was the first person to respond to those appeals.
He said the road project had increased the confidence of some residents in the senator, while the canvassing exercise was designed to promote active participation in the elections.
Prince Olusola Olabode, a member of the Yayi Vanguard Empowerment Foundation and part of the committee overseeing contracting and mobilisation for the governorship campaign, also said he was confident that the ward’s APC network could bring out voters.
He argued that Senator Adeola’s record should be judged by the projects and interventions associated with him, with the Imala road work serving as a notable example.
Olusola said the immediate objective was to inform residents that they needed to vote in large numbers and work harder so the party would not risk losing the opportunity.
He said the road had been the subject of repeated campaign commitments in the past, but the current work had produced a positive response within the community.
Olusola expressed hope that construction would be finished promptly, allowing residents to experience what he described as the benefits of democratic governance.
Hon. Ibikunle Bayowa, a former chairman of Abeokuta North Local Government, called on the new polling-unit ambassadors to step up grassroots organising before the 2027 elections.
Bayowa asked them to conduct door-to-door outreach and persuade more residents to vote for APC candidates at every level of government.
He said the canvassers should visit homes, bring more people to their polling booths and mobilise mass support for Yayi, the president, the governor, senators, members of the House of Representatives and members of the House of Assembly when voting begins.
The former council chairman said he was pleased with the attendance and the canvassers’ reaction to the mobilisation programme, describing their commitment as evidence of a strong party structure at the grassroots.
Bayowa said the participants had responded positively to his repeated addresses and expressed confidence that the APC would succeed at the presidential, governorship, senatorial, House of Representatives and House of Assembly contests.
Stephen Adetomiwa, a senior ward figure, praised Alhaja Faidat Sarumi Akintunde for helping to unite party members.
He said the exercise was intended to reinforce the APC’s organisation throughout the ward and urged members to work together for the party’s candidates.
Adetomiwa declared firm backing for Senator Yayi as the prospective governor, while also voicing support for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the other APC candidates.
The Bada of Ishaga-Orile, Alhaji Prince Mukaila Oniyide, instructed the newly inaugurated polling-unit officials to work continuously for every APC candidate, from the presidency through state and legislative elections.
He identified President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Senator Olamilekan Adeola Yayi, Senator Shuaib Salisu, Hon. Olumide Osoba and Hon. Babatunde Tella as the candidates for whom the canvassers were expected to build support.
Oniyide said the new polling-unit officials had to work relentlessly to ensure that all the party’s candidates, at every level, won the coming elections.
Hon. Victor Olusola, the councillor for Ward 14, Imala, said the attendance was proof of the APC’s strength in the community.
He connected the road construction to earlier requests from residents and local leaders, saying the start of work had generated considerable excitement.
Olusola said an engineer had already been assigned to the site, adding that residents had been waiting for an intervention of that kind.
He asked the canvassers to protect the unity displayed at the event, stressing that the ward’s goals could only be achieved through joint effort.
Ward chairman Oluwole Odebo also expressed confidence in the campaign, saying members of Ward 14 would work to produce substantial backing for APC candidates.
He said the road had become a central concern for residents, who had waited for many years to see meaningful action on it.
Odebo predicted that Ward 14 would deliver an unprecedented vote because the party had undertaken a project with a significant impact on the wider Imala community.
Hon. Fagbenro Mukaila, a former councillor in the ward, commended APC leaders and Senator Adeola for their community projects, particularly the Imala road scheme.
He also thanked Governor Dapo Abiodun and other APC leaders for their roles in the development of the community.
- Earlier: APC Ward 14 in Abeokuta North launches 240 polling-unit canvassers and promises overwhelming backing for Tinubu, Yayi and other candidates in 2027.
- Later
2027: APC Ward 14, Abeokuta North, launches 240 polling-unit canvassers and pledges sweeping support for Tinubu, Yayi and other candidates.
