Days after losing his bid in the All Progressives Congress (APC) primary, former House of Representatives aspirant for Ikeja Federal Constituency Olalekan Ayinla has returned to the political trenches, embarking on door-to-door mobilisation across Lagos to rally support for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Lagos governorship candidate, Obafemi Hamzat, and other party candidates ahead of the 2027 elections.
Other candidates expected to benefit from the Chieftains grassroots mobilisation were the candidate and lawmaker representing Lagos West Senatorial District, Idiat Adebule, the standard-bearer and lawmaker representing Ikeja Federal Constituency at the House of Representatives, James Faleke, the two house of assembly lawmakers, Richard Kasumu and Adeseyi Lawal.
Rather than withdraw from party activities after the primary, Ayinla stated that he had chosen to put the contest behind him and devote his energy to strengthening the All Progressives Congress (APC) at the grassroots.
Addressing newsmen yesterday, he said his immediate priority was to mobilise support for candidates nominated by the party for the 2027 elections, particularly Tinubu, who is seeking re-election, and Hamzat, the party’s candidate for governor of Lagos State.
“Party primary has come and gone, and everything that happened during the primary, we are putting them behind us. It is now time to focus on the campaign to support all the candidates that our party, APC has nominated for all positions,” Ayinla said.
He said his decision to remain active in the party was not motivated by the outcome of the primary, adding that his political activities were also linked to his interest in supporting young people and easing the financial burden on parents through education-focused initiatives.
“My priority and one of the reasons why we are doing this, is to ease financial burden on the parents, to support the students as we too have been supported,” he added.
Ayinla said the Olalekan Ayinla Foundation would continue to support education and contribute to community development.
He also urged APC members to mobilise voters for Tinubu and Hamzat, saying the party needed to work collectively to secure victory for its candidates.
“My priority and the priority of all the progressive members, APC, is to come out massively to campaign in order for us to win all the positions that we have nominated candidates for,” he said.
Speaking specifically about Tinubu, Ayinla said he was backing the President’s re-election bid and would participate actively in the campaign.
He similarly called on Lagos residents to support Hamzat, describing him as the APC’s candidate for the 2027 governorship election.
“This is our state, this is where we are, and we must also come out to support him,” Ayinla said.
On his door-to-door campaign, Ayinla described grassroots mobilisation as part of the responsibility of party members, saying he would continue engaging residents ahead of the election.
“Door-to-door party campaign is part of party member responsibility, and that is why I am doing it in order to support the party and to support all our candidates that have been nominated for various positions,” he said.
His renewed grassroots campaign comes as political parties in Lagos begin preparations and mobilisation ahead of the 2027 elections, with APC stepping up activities across the state.