The ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ondo State has assembled a 228-member campaign council to mobilize support for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s 2027 re-election bid, placing Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa at the head of a coalition that spans the state’s political establishment.
The council, announced Monday by state party Chairman Babatunde Kolawole in Akure, includes serving and former officeholders, legislators, party officials, traditional figures, technocrats, women and youth leaders, and grassroots organizers.
Party officials framed the appointments as an effort to consolidate support across Ondo’s 18 local government areas ahead of the vote.
Governor Aiyedatiwa will lead the council.
Deputy Governor Olayide Adelami, state Assembly Speaker Olamide Kolawole, Finance Minister Taiwo Oyedele, Interior Minister Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo and Minister of State for Youth Development Ayodele Olawande were named Vice Chairmen.
Former Speaker of the House of Representatives Victor Olabimtan will serve as Director-General, with Sylvester Adu as his Deputy.
Ola Oguntimehin was appointed secretary.
The roster also reaches beyond the governor’s immediate circle.
It includes former Governor Olusegun Mimiko, who led Ondo from 2009 to 2017; former Deputy Governor Agboola Ajayi; several former federal and state lawmakers; and Senators Jide Ipinsagba, Adeniyi Adegbonmire and Dayo Faduyile.
The move signals the APC’s effort to convert Ondo’s institutional and grassroots networks into an organized electoral operation for Tinubu and the party’s other 2027 candidates.
In its statement, the party said the council was intended to unite stakeholders around the administration’s “Renewed Hope Agenda” and secure victory in next year’s elections.
The announcement comes as the party’s national campaign structure is already active, though internal rivalries among Tinubu loyalists in Ondo, including tensions between supporters of Governor Aiyedatiwa and Interior Minister Tunji-Ojo, have previously raised concerns about cohesion.
