The Lagos State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has declared that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu deserves a second term in office, maintaining that his performance since he assumed office has justified his re-election bid.
The party leaders made the declaration on Tuesday at an inter-faith prayer session organised by the Lagos APC campaign committee to kick off its activities ahead of the 2027 general elections.
The event, held at the Mobolaji Johnson Stadium, Onikan, Lagos, brought together Christian, Muslim and traditional worshippers who prayed for Tinubu, Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, the party’s governorship candidate, Dr Obafemi Hamzat, and other APC candidates.
According to the party leaders, Tinubu has lived up to expectations as President of a “highly heterogeneous and complex country” and has fulfilled campaign promises across various sectors.
Speaking at the event, Sanwo-Olu said the party had sought divine guidance before commencing its campaign and would combine prayers with grassroots mobilisation ahead of the elections.
“We have come to pray, and we don’t have anything besides prayer. God has answered our prayers. If we want to embark on a journey, we want to enter a plane, we pray to God. Our prayer has gone to Abuja to meet the president and the First Lady. If we have faith, it is an answered prayer,” he said.
The governor said the party would not take voters for granted, stressing that its members would still have to work for victory despite their faith in God.
“We can now begin the journey after the prayer. We are not taking anybody for granted. We have only asked God to give us direction. We will work, but we are also people of faith,” Sanwo-Olu added.
He expressed confidence that Hamzat would emerge as the next governor of Lagos State, saying the party would mobilise voters across Lagos and the Southwest for both the governorship and presidential elections.
“On February 6, by the grace of God and support of all Lagosians, our deputy governor who is our governorship candidate, will be elected as the governor of the State of Excellence in a joint ticket with our sister and daughter, Damilola Seneyon-James,” he said.
Sanwo-Olu, who spoke at the event, pledged to mobilise support for Tinubu across Lagos and the Southwest, while urging party members to combine prayers with grassroots mobilisation.
“We will go out to work. We will go round. We will go to the nooks and crannies of Lagos and the Southwest. The presidential campaign should be approached with utmost commitment,” he said.
Hamzat also expressed confidence in the party’s chances, attributing the expected victory to its decision to place the campaign in God’s hands.
“We are sure that we will be victorious because he has handed everything to God,” Hamzat said.
He said the prayer session was not only for the party’s leadership but for all its candidates contesting the 2027 elections.
“As we are starting, we believe we should place everything in the hands of God. Our party believes in God. We are putting our party and country in the hands of God,” he said.
“We are praying for the president, the first lady, our governor, his wife, myself, my wife, and my deputy, all our candidates; three senators, 24 House of Representatives and 40 House of Assembly candidates. The Almighty God will deliver us. We want the election to be violence-free. We will not be victims of any accident.”
Earlier, Chairman of the Lagos APC Campaign Organisation, Senator Musiliu Obanikoro, said while political strategy, organisation and hard work were necessary for electoral success, the party also recognised the role of prayer.
In a speech titled ‘Let God go before us’, Obanikoro urged party members to combine their political efforts with discipline, unity and responsibility.
“We may have different aspirations, preferences and interests. It is normal. But we belong to one party, and we must approach the elections with unity,” he said.
“There must be no room for bitterness, recrimination, and we must not work at cross-purposes. We competed with dignity. We must work together. Political office is temporary, but the relationship and the society we build will remain.”
Obanikoro also said the party had the best candidates at both the national and state levels, while defending Tinubu’s bid for another term.
He said the President had demonstrated the capacity to lead “a multi-ethnic and complex country like Nigeria”.
Chairman of the campaign committee’s Inter-faith Committee, Oyinlomo Danmole, also highlighted what he described as Tinubu’s achievements since assuming office.
Danmole, a lawyer, former state lawmaker and commissioner, said the President had supported youths and students through the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND), while also providing support for business owners through various institutions and initiatives.
He added that Tinubu’s focus on infrastructure had also produced dividends for the country.
The prayer session featured a rare display of religious harmony, with Christian, Muslim and traditional worshippers taking turns to pray for the candidates, the country and peaceful elections.
Methodist Bishop Stephen Adegbite, who led the Christian clerics, commended the peaceful coexistence between Christians and Muslims in Lagos.
“In the last seven years, a Christian has been the governor. Now, a Muslim is taking over,” he said.
Addressing Hamzat, the bishop added: “You are the first deputy governor to contest for governor. You will be there.”
The event was attended by Lagos APC leaders and political stakeholders, including party chairman Pastor Cornelius Ojelabi, Governance Advisory Council (GAC) leader Prince Tajudeen Olusi, Senator Idiat Adebule, Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly Mudashiru Obasa, his predecessor Yemi Ikuforiji, former Finance Minister Wale Edun, Senator Ganiyu Solomon, Deputy Governorship Candidate Damilola James and National Youth Leader Dayo Israel, among others.
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