Ambode says ADC and NDC lack the experience to govern Nigeria as APC flags off Lagos East campaign in Epe
The former Lagos governor told the APC rally that the party is consistent and that opposition politicians keep moving between parties.
Former Lagos State governor Akinwunmi Ambode says the opposition parties trying to unseat the All Progressives Congress in 2027 lack the experience to run Nigeria. He spoke at the APC East Senatorial District rally at Epe Recreational Ground, Epe, Lagos, on Thursday, according to Blueprint.
Ambode singled out the African Democratic Congress (ADC) and the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), along with other opposition platforms, and argued that the APC has greater political experience, ideological consistency and a stronger record in government. He urged residents to back President Bola Tinubu, the party's Lagos governorship candidate, Dr Kadri Obafemi Hamzat, and other APC candidates.
The former governor leaned on the argument of loyalty to a party. “APC is our party. We are a collective of the progressives. We have been consistent and delivering for the party. Over the years, we have remained with the progressives and we do not move from one party to another like other people,” he said. He described the APC as a movement linking Nigeria's past, present and future and urged supporters to mobilise voters across the state.
Ambode also praised the president's record in Lagos. He said Tinubu's tenure as governor between 1999 and 2007 laid the foundation for the state's growth, crediting it with making Lagos a magnet for investment and for the financial institutions headquartered there. “Whether you like him or not, he is a visionary leader,” Ambode said. “If not for Tinubu, who laid the foundation for the Lagos of today, all the financial firms that have their headquarters in Lagos would have been struggling to survive. But today, his vision has assisted the country to remain an investor destination.”
The Epe rally marked the flag-off of the APC's 2027 campaign in Lagos. The Lagos APC spokesman, Mogaji Seye Oladejo, said on the same day that the entire party machinery in the state was mobilised to Epe for what he called a historic engagement. On the same day, an NDC town hall for Peter Obi in Oregun was disrupted by suspected thugs, an incident the APC says it had nothing to do with.
Ambode's remarks are a campaign argument rather than a measured comparison. The ADC and NDC have not responded to his comments in the reports reviewed, and both parties present themselves as alternatives to the APC for the 16 January presidential election.
Ambode served as Lagos governor from 2015 to 2019. His appearance at the rally stood out as a sign of the APC's effort to show unity in Lagos as the campaign for the 2027 elections begins.
SOURCE: Blueprint
