The All Progressives Congress in Lagos State has declared President Bola Tinubu’s re-election bid a matter of national interest, as the party formally commenced its campaign for the 2027 elections with an inter-faith prayer session in Lagos on Tuesday.

The party said Tinubu had demonstrated the capacity to govern Nigeria’s diverse and complex society and had delivered on key campaign promises, urging Lagosians and other supporters to secure his return for a second term.

The campaign launch at the Mobolaji Johnson Stadium, Onikan, brought together Muslim and Christian clerics and traditional worshippers, who offered prayers for Tinubu, Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, the party’s governorship candidate, Obafemi Hamzat, and other APC candidates.

The event was also attended by APC leaders, including the state chairman, Cornelius Ojelabi; Governance Advisory Council leader, Tajudeen Olusi; Speaker of the state House of Assembly, Mudashiru Obasa; former Speaker Yemi Ikuforiji; former Finance Minister Wale Edun; Senator Idiat Adebule; Senator Ganiyu Solomon and other party officials and candidates.

Supporters dressed in party colours and carried banners as drummers and other performers created a campaign atmosphere at the stadium.

Sanwo-Olu, who said the party had sought divine guidance before embarking on its campaign, warned party members against complacency.

“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,” the governor said.

He added that the prayer marked the beginning of the party’s political mobilisation rather than a substitute for hard work at the polls.

“We can now begin the journey after the prayer,” Sanwo-Olu said, adding that, “We will go out to work. We will go round. We will go to the nooks and crannies of Lagos and the Southwest.”

Sanwo-Olu pledged to mobilise support across Lagos and the South-West for Tinubu’s second-term bid, urging party members to approach the presidential campaign with “utmost commitment”.

“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,” Sanwo-Olu said.

Hamzat, who spoke with similar confidence, said the party had entrusted its campaign and candidates to God.

“We are sure that we will be victorious because we have handed everything to God.

“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.

Hamzat prayed for Tinubu, his wife, Oluremi, Sanwo-Olu and his wife, Ibijoke, as well as the APC’s candidates for the Senate, House of Representatives and Lagos State House of Assembly.

He also called for peaceful elections, saying, “We want the election to be violence-free. We will not be victims of any accident.”

The campaign chairman, Musiliu Obanikoro, meanwhile, used the prayer session to caution against the internal divisions that could undermine the party’s electoral prospects.

In a speech titled, “Let God Go Before Us,” Obanikoro said strategy, organisation, hard work and commitment remained essential to electoral success, but argued that some circumstances were beyond human control.

“There are doors which only God Almighty can open,” he said.

But Obanikoro stressed that prayer must be accompanied by discipline and unity, particularly among party members who had competed for tickets.

“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.”

He described the APC’s candidates at the national and state levels as the best available choices and backed Tinubu’s bid for another term, arguing that the President had shown he could manage Nigeria’s “multi-ethnic and complex” political environment.

The chairman of the campaign’s Inter-Faith Committee, Oyinlomo Danmole, also defended Tinubu’s record, pointing to government programmes targeted at young people, students and businesses.

He cited the Nigerian Education Loan Fund as an intervention for students and youths, alongside government support for businesses and investment in infrastructure.

The inter-faith gathering itself offered a display of religious cooperation, with Muslim, Christian and traditional worshippers taking turns to pray for the candidates, the country and peaceful elections.

Methodist Bishop Stephen Adegbite, who led the Christian delegation, praised the religious coexistence in Lagos and highlighted the state’s political transition.

“In the last seven years, a Christian has been the governor. Now, a Muslim is taking over,” Adegbite said.

Addressing Hamzat, he added: “You are the first deputy governor to contest for governor. You will be there.”