The All Progressives Congress (APC) Lagos State Chapter has rejected a claim made by former Osun State Governor Rauf Aregbesola that the 2027 election will not be decided by governors defecting to the party.
The party said in a statement from its spokesperson, Oladejo Seye, that the statement was intended to promote the opposition’s academic success in the 2023 Lagos presidential elections.
The APC maintained that it was essential to document the facts and rectify the generalizations and convenient omissions that were present in Aregbesola’s statements.
“First, it is intellectually dishonest to isolate Lagos from the larger national picture,” the statement says. It was not by coincidence that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu won the 2023 presidential election; rather, he did so by forming the largest national coalition, winning the constitutional spread, and garnering the support of Nigerians in all regions.
Even though they are symbolic, presidential elections are won at the national level rather than by a single state. To imply differently reveals either a lack of understanding of electoral reality or a conscious effort to deceive.
Second, Mr. Aregbesola finds it convenient to ignore the fact that the opposition’s purported “victory” in Lagos during the presidential election was, at best, fleeting. It didn’t affect the country’s result and didn’t last past that particular election. Just days later, during the governorship election, Lagosians reaffirmed their confidence in the APC and the progressive tradition by returning the party to office.
“Even more instructive, subsequent off-season bye-elections across the state produced sweeping victories for the APC, a clear and unmistakable reflection of the progressive party’s enduring control, structure, and grassroots acceptance in Lagos.
“Third, far from diminishing President Tinubu’s stature, the Lagos presidential election results enhanced his democratic credentials. They stand today as incontrovertible proof of his belief in, and commitment to, a credible electoral process.
“The fact that an opposition candidate could win in a state governed by his party underscores the integrity of the process under his watch and silences any lingering doubts about his democratic ethos.”
