Lagos APC Orders 2027 Candidates to Stay in Nigeria Until After Election

Lagos APC Orders 2027 Candidates to Stay in Nigeria Until After Election

The Lagos State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has directed all its candidates contesting the 2027 general elections to remain in Nigeria until after the polls, as the party formally activates its campaign machinery and begins an intensified grassroots mobilisation drive across the state.

The directive was issued by the Lagos APC chairman, Cornelius Ojelabi, on Friday, September 18, 2026, during the inauguration of the party’s 1,235-member 2027 campaign council at the APC secretariat on ACME Road, Ikeja.

Ojelabi told the candidates to cooperate with the campaign council and remain available for campaign activities, stressing the importance of coordination and accountability within the party’s election structure.

“To our candidates, cooperate with the campaign council and make yourself available. After today’s inauguration, no candidate is allowed to travel outside the country until after the general elections,” Ojelabi said.

The directive is an internal instruction by the Lagos APC to its candidates and should not be interpreted as a government-imposed restriction on international travel. It does not amount to a travel ban on members of the general public.

The travel directive came as the party inaugurated a large campaign structure designed to coordinate its activities across Lagos ahead of the 2027 elections.

Former Minister of State for Defence and former senator, Musiliu Obanikoro, is serving as Director-General of the campaign council, while Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu is listed as chairman and Deputy Governor and APC governorship candidate Kadri Obafemi Hamzat as deputy chairman.

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The campaign structure also includes APC Lagos chairman Ojelabi as Vice-Chairman I, Lagos State House of Assembly Speaker Mudashiru Obasa as Vice-Chairman II and Damilola Sonayon James as Vice-Chairman III.

At the advisory level, Prince Tajudeen Olusi is chairman of the Governance Advisory Council, while Sanwo-Olu heads the Advisory Council. Former Lagos governors Babatunde Fashola and Akinwunmi Ambode are listed as co-chairmen.

Other prominent figures in the structure include President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Chief of Staff, Femi Gbajabiamila, and former Minister of Health Adeleke Mamora.

The campaign council has multiple directorates and committees responsible for areas including legal and compliance, party and inter-party affairs, administration and logistics, finance and fundraising, ICT, traditional institutions, diaspora engagement and residents’ associations.

The structure also provides for coordination across Lagos’ senatorial districts, local government areas and other grassroots political structures.

Ojelabi said the party would adopt a decentralised grassroots strategy, with members expected to work directly within communities, wards and polling areas.

He described the approach as “operation man your polling booth”, saying the party intended to deploy its members and leaders to polling locations to mobilise voters.

The APC chairman put the party’s target at five million votes from a projected seven million voters in Lagos. That figure is a campaign target announced by the party and does not represent an established election result or independent projection.

Ojelabi also urged members to respect the law and maintain discipline within the campaign structure. He called for an election campaign free from hatred, thuggery and violence, stressing the importance of peaceful political engagement.

Hamzat, who is the APC’s candidate for the 2027 Lagos governorship election, urged party members to base their campaign on what they describe as the records and achievements of APC-led administrations.

He said campaign messages should focus on facts, data and measurable outcomes, citing areas including taxation, infrastructure, agriculture and security.

Hamzat also referenced major infrastructure projects, including the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway, while calling on party members to explain the administration’s policies and programmes to voters during the campaign.

The governorship candidate also urged APC members to mobilise voters at the community level and work for the party’s candidates contesting the Senate, House of Representatives and Lagos State House of Assembly elections.

Obanikoro, as Director-General of the campaign council, also called for unity and commitment among members of the campaign structure as the party begins its electioneering activities.

The inauguration brings together serving and former political office holders, elected representatives, candidates and other party stakeholders as the Lagos APC prepares for the 2027 electoral cycle.

The party’s campaign structure is expected to coordinate its activities across the state while keeping candidates and grassroots members engaged throughout the election period.

The directive that APC candidates should remain in Nigeria until after the election therefore forms part of the party’s internal campaign coordination strategy, coming at a time when political parties are organising their structures ahead of the 2027 general elections.

Lagos APC Orders 2027 Candidates to Stay in Nigeria Until After Election