By Ndudirim Sylvia Iloka
The All Progressives Congress (APC) has inaugurated its National Campaign Council for the August 15 governorship election in Osun State, declaring that the party is fully prepared to reclaim the state and use the contest as a springboard for the 2027 general elections.
Speaking during the inauguration of the campaign council in Abuja on Tuesday, APC National Chairman, Prof. Nentawe Yilwatda, described the Osun governorship election as a major political test that would assess the party’s preparedness for future national elections.
Yilwatda said the APC remains the country’s largest political platform, with an extensive network of governors, federal lawmakers, ministers, former public office holders, local government officials and grassroots leaders spread across Nigeria.
He noted that the composition of the National Campaign Council reflected the party’s national strength, electoral experience and determination to secure victory in Osun.
According to him, the APC has continued to attract influential political figures from different parts of the country, a development he said has further strengthened its electoral capacity and positioned it for success in future contests.
The party chairman stressed that the Osun governorship election holds strategic importance because it is expected to be the last major electoral contest before the 2027 general elections, making it an opportunity to test the party’s campaign structure, mobilisation strategy and voter engagement.
He disclosed that the APC would deploy its governors, ministers, lawmakers and other party leaders across the state to drive an intensive grassroots campaign aimed at connecting directly with voters.
Yilwatda said the campaign would prioritise community engagement through town hall meetings, house-to-house mobilisation and targeted outreach to women, youths and other critical voting blocs.
He thereafter formally inaugurated the National Campaign Council and charged members to work assiduously towards delivering victory for the party’s governorship candidate, Bola Oyebanji.
Responding on behalf of the council, its chairman and Governor of Imo State, Hope Uzodimma, assured party members that the campaign would be issue-based, peaceful and focused on earning the confidence of the electorate.
Uzodimma said the council would engage workers, farmers, traders, artisans, professionals, youths and traditional institutions across Osun State while presenting the achievements of the APC-led Federal Government and the party’s development agenda for the state.
He pledged that members of the council would conduct themselves in line with democratic principles and avoid actions capable of undermining the credibility of the election.
“Our campaign will be vigorous without violence, competitive without bitterness and confident without arrogance,” Uzodimma said, expressing confidence that the APC would secure victory in the August 15 governorship election.
