2027 Will Be Decided By Performance, Not Polemics – Lagos APC Fires Back At Aregbesola

The Lagos State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has dismissed recent comments attributed to former Osun State Governor, Rauf Aregbesola, describing them as misleading, selective, and detached from Nigeria’s electoral realities.
In a strongly worded response issued on Wednesday, the Lagos APC said Aregbesola’s attempt to downplay the significance of recent defections to the ruling party and to exaggerate the opposition’s showing in Lagos during the 2023 presidential election amounted to “convenient omissions and sweeping conclusions.”
The party stressed that while opinions are free in a democracy, facts must not be distorted for political convenience.
According to the statement signed by the Lagos APC Spokesman, Mogaji (Hon.) Seye Oladejo, it was “intellectually disingenuous” to isolate Lagos from the broader national outcome of the 2023 presidential election. The party noted that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s victory was secured through a wide national coalition, constitutional spread, and broad-based support across Nigeria’s regions.
“Presidential elections are won nationally, not on the basis of a single state, however symbolic,” the APC said, adding that any suggestion to the contrary either reflects a poor understanding of electoral dynamics or a deliberate attempt to mislead the public.
The Lagos APC further argued that the opposition’s much-celebrated presidential victory in Lagos in 2023 was, at best, short-lived. The party recalled that only weeks later, Lagos voters reaffirmed their support for the APC by re-electing the party in the governorship poll. It added that subsequent bye-elections and off-season contests across the state had resulted in sweeping APC victories, reinforcing the party’s dominance, structure, and grassroots acceptance in Lagos.
Rather than weakening President Tinubu’s political standing, the party said the 2023 Lagos presidential outcome strengthened his democratic credentials.
“The fact that an opposition candidate could win in a state governed by his party underscores the integrity of the electoral process under his watch,” the statement noted, describing it as proof of Tinubu’s commitment to democratic values and credible elections.
On the issue of defections, the Lagos APC maintained that it has never argued that defections alone determine electoral outcomes. Instead, it listed performance, credibility, leadership, structure, and vision as the real determinants of electoral success. According to the party, the ongoing wave of defections into the APC is a reflection of the opposition’s internal failures, lack of coherence, and ideological bankruptcy.
The party also took a swipe at the opposition, describing its reactions to recent defections as panic-driven and symptomatic of a political camp grappling with “impending irrelevance.”
“We reaffirm, without equivocation, that those horrific dreams will indeed come true in 2027, when an opposition bereft of ideas, unity, and credibility will disappear into the winds of history,” the statement declared.
The Lagos APC found it “curious,” however, that individuals who once benefitted from the progressive political platform built by President Tinubu now seek relevance by downplaying his role in Nigeria’s political evolution. It warned against what it described as revisionist narratives, insisting that modern Nigerian politics cannot be properly understood without acknowledging Tinubu’s role in coalition-building, leadership development, and institutionalising progressive governance.
As the 2027 general elections draw closer, the party said it remains focused on governance, economic reforms, national stability, and improving the lives of Nigerians. It urged political actors to move away from polemics and instead engage citizens with concrete ideas, solutions, and verifiable records.
“2027 will be decided by performance, not polemics, selective memories, or convenient amnesia,” the statement concluded.