The All Progressives Congress (APC) has said it is determined to avoid a repeat of the mistakes that led to its defeat in the 2025 Anambra State governorship election, warning party stakeholders against actions capable of undermining its chances in the 2027 presidential poll.
The party’s National Leader for Persons with Disabilities (PWDs), Tolu Bankole, and National Woman Leader, Mary Alile Idele, gave the warning on Thursday at the stakeholders’ engagement on the leadership crisis in the Anambra State chapter of the party held in Abuja.
The meeting was convened by the APC National Working Committee (NWC) as part of efforts to reconcile aggrieved members and reposition the party ahead of future elections.
Bankole said the party was fully aware of what transpired during the last governorship election in Anambra and stressed that the APC could not afford a repeat of the experience.
According to him, the party failed to rally behind its governorship candidate, Prince Nicholas Ukachukwu, despite the resources and commitment he invested in the election.
“We know what Prince Nicholas Ukachukwu did and what he spent. Had we all rallied round him after his emergence, we probably would not be here discussing these issues. By now, perhaps, you would have had your state governor,” he said.
Bankole lamented that despite the abundance of talented, influential and wealthy individuals in Anambra, the party had continued to struggle electorally in the state.
“We have already lost the opportunity to produce our own governor. We are now approaching another election, the 2027 presidential election. If, by any mistake, we lose that opportunity again, we may not even be talking about APC in Anambra anymore because we have laboured for years,” he warned.
He urged party leaders and members to embrace reconciliation, teamwork and collective responsibility, stressing that no political party could succeed when members were working against one another.
Also speaking, APC National Woman Leader, Dr. Mary Alile Idele, said the party must move beyond past grievances and focus on the bigger task of delivering victory for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in 2027.
She noted that members who attended the reconciliation meeting had demonstrated their willingness to give peace a chance and should therefore seize the opportunity to rebuild trust within the party.
“We all went to the field during the last election in Anambra and we saw what happened. It is easy to point fingers at one another, but that is now in the past. We are charting a new course because 2027 is just around the corner,” she said.
Idele maintained that the APC had only one mandate ahead of the next general election.
“That mandate is to deliver victory for His Excellency, the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, in 2027,” she declared.
The APC woman leader emphasised that reconciliation should not be seen as a sign of weakness but as a demonstration of political wisdom and maturity.
Quoting the popular saying that a house divided against itself cannot stand, she warned that a divided APC would find it difficult to achieve its electoral objectives in Anambra State.
She assured stakeholders that the reconciliation committee was not in Abuja to apportion blame but to listen to all sides and find lasting solutions to the lingering crisis in the state chapter.
Both leaders urged party members to place the interests of the APC above personal ambitions, insisting that the party must remain supreme if it is to make significant electoral gains in Anambra and secure victory for President Tinubu in the 2027 presidential election.
