The Lagos State chairman of Nigeria’s ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Cornelius Ojelabi, has pledged that the party will overturn the outcome of the 2023 presidential election in the state after a surprise defeat to Peter Obi of the Labour Party.
Speaking at the party’s state secretariat in Ogba during the inauguration of a newly elected 35-member state executive council on Friday, Ojelabi told party officials they were assuming office at a “critical period” as preparations begin for the 2027 general election.
“All eyes are on us,” he said. “The question people are asking is whether we are going to change the narrative and consolidate on the achievements of our party since 1999.”
The result of the 2023 Nigerian presidential election in Lagos stunned many political observers. Despite the state being the political base of Bola Tinubu, who governed Lagos from 1999 to 2007 before becoming Nigeria’s president, Obi narrowly carried the state.
According to figures released by the Independent National Electoral Commission, 1,347,152 voters were accredited in Lagos. Obi secured 582,454 votes, defeating Tinubu, who polled 572,606, while Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party finished a distant third with 75,750 votes.
Ojelabi said reversing the result in 2027 would be a way for party members in Lagos to show appreciation to Tinubu, whom he credited with shaping the state’s political landscape and expanding its local government structure during his tenure as governor.
“The only thing we can do to show appreciation is for all of us to go all out and make sure that we deliver our votes in totality,” he said.
The party chairman urged the newly sworn-in executives to avoid factional politics and prioritise unity, warning them against aligning with informal caucuses outside the party’s official structures.
“Regardless of the groups you belonged to before now, you must drop them,” he said. “You are now symbols of the party.”
He also encouraged the officials to deepen their engagement with grassroots structures by working closely with local government leaders and councillors while identifying political “black spots” in their constituencies that could weaken the party’s performance in future elections.
Ojelabi added that the APC had completed the first phase of an electronic membership registration exercise aimed at establishing a reliable statistical base for its membership ahead of future contests.
“Whatever figure we arrive at, we intend to double it in votes,” he said, pointing to infrastructure projects and economic reforms under Tinubu’s administration as factors he believes will attract broader public support beyond party loyalists.
The new Lagos APC executive council, elected for a four-year term, is led by Ojelabi and includes Moshood Olanrewaju as deputy chairman, Adeola Jokomba as secretary, Azizat Mariam as assistant secretary and Seye Oladejo as publicity secretary.
The oath of office was administered by Nike Coke during the ceremony, following the executives’ election earlier in the week at the Mobolaji Johnson Stadium.
