By Iroyin Yoruba Television
The Lagos State chapter of the All Progressives Congress has established a new Contact and Mobilisation Sub-Committee on Ethnic Nationality as part of its preparations for the 2027 general elections.
The newly created team is specifically tasked with engaging non-indigenous residents and different ethnic nationality groups across Lagos State as the ruling party intensifies its grassroots mobilisation ahead of the elections.
The inaugural meeting of the committee was held on Tuesday, October 6, 2026, under the leadership of Lagos State Deputy Chief of Staff, Sam Egube.
The development marks a new phase in the Lagos APC's campaign structure as the party seeks to strengthen its relationship with residents from different parts of Nigeria who live and work in Lagos.
According to the party, the committee will serve as a platform for engagement with ethnic nationality associations and community leaders while identifying issues affecting different groups across the state.
The initiative is significant because Lagos is one of Nigeria's most diverse political and demographic centres.
Millions of residents in the state originate from different parts of Nigeria and maintain cultural, social and political links with their home states while participating fully in the economic and civic life of Lagos.
For political parties, this diversity makes community engagement an important part of electoral mobilisation.
The APC's decision to create a dedicated structure for ethnic nationality engagement reflects the importance of reaching voters beyond conventional party structures.
Rather than relying solely on ward and local-government party organisations, the new committee is expected to build relationships with organised community associations representing different ethnic groups.
Egube, who heads the committee, said the assignment would involve more than simply gathering people for political meetings.
He said the team would be expected to listen to residents, understand the issues affecting different communities and maintain relationships with community leaders and associations.
The committee will also engage voters in multiple languages and communicate community-specific concerns to the wider campaign structure.
This approach could allow the APC to obtain a more detailed understanding of the priorities of different communities.
Lagos has a large population of residents from the North, South-East, South-South, North-Central and other parts of the country.
Many of these residents operate businesses, work in formal and informal sectors, attend schools and universities and participate in community associations.
Their electoral choices can therefore be significant in determining the outcome of elections in the state.
The APC's mobilisation strategy is aimed at turning those community networks into stronger political engagement ahead of 2027.
The committee includes representatives associated with several major ethnic and regional communities.
Members listed for the Arewa group include Alhaji Sampam Usman, Alhaji Saadu Yusuf, Aisha Sanni Kachiako, Jida Sayid, Ibrahim Tanko Auna and Ibrahim Suleiman.
The South-South group includes Otunba Engineer Isaac Emiyede, Awila Banigo Williams and Napoleon.
The Nupe group includes Hon. Muhammad Kpatako and Mohammed Kudu.
The Ndigbo group includes former Lagos State Special Adviser Joe Igbokwe, Chief Uche Okpotemba, Chief Uche Ubochi, Chief Anselem and Ngozi Chinwiko.
The inclusion of representatives from different communities is intended to provide the party with direct channels for communication with groups that may have distinct concerns and expectations.
Political mobilisation through ethnic and community associations is not new in Nigeria.
Community organisations often play important roles in communicating political information, organising meetings and influencing how residents engage with political parties.
However, the effectiveness of such structures depends on whether they are able to address genuine concerns rather than simply organising campaign rallies.
The Lagos APC committee is therefore expected to focus on listening and engagement as well as mobilisation.
Community-specific concerns can include housing, employment, transportation, security, education, healthcare, business opportunities and access to government programmes.
Different communities may prioritise different issues depending on their location and socioeconomic circumstances.
For example, traders may be more concerned about market infrastructure and business regulation, while younger residents may focus more heavily on employment, skills development and education.
Residents in densely populated areas may place greater emphasis on transportation and housing.
A successful political mobilisation strategy would therefore need to recognise these differences.
Egube's statement that the committee will report relevant issues and progress to the wider campaign structure suggests that the initiative is intended to provide feedback from communities to party leaders.
Such feedback can help political organisations adjust their messaging and identify issues that require attention.
It can also provide an avenue through which residents can communicate concerns to political leaders.
The establishment of the committee comes as political parties across Nigeria prepare for the 2027 elections.
With the election approaching, parties are increasingly building campaign structures, strengthening grassroots networks and identifying groups of voters they hope to mobilise.
Lagos is particularly important because of its large electorate and its economic significance.
The state has historically been one of the most politically influential parts of Nigeria.
The APC is seeking to maintain its strong position in Lagos while also supporting President Bola Tinubu's re-election bid and the party's other candidates.
The committee will therefore campaign for Tinubu, Lagos governorship candidate Obafemi Hamzat and other APC candidates contesting the 2027 elections.
Its activities could include meetings with ethnic associations, community outreach, multilingual voter engagement and discussions with local leaders.
The strategy may also help the party address concerns arising from perceptions of indigene and non-indigene relations in Lagos.
The relationship between indigenous communities and residents who originate from other parts of Nigeria has sometimes been a sensitive political issue.
Lagos, as one of Nigeria's largest destinations for internal migration, contains large communities whose members have lived in the state for many years.
Some have established businesses, bought property and raised families in Lagos.
Others maintain strong connections to their states of origin while considering Lagos their primary place of residence.
Political parties seeking their support therefore need to understand that these communities cannot be treated simply as temporary electoral groups.
They have long-term interests in the state and may judge political parties based on how policies affect their daily lives.
The APC's decision to create a dedicated engagement structure could therefore be viewed as an attempt to develop a more systematic relationship with these voters.
However, political mobilisation also carries responsibilities.
Engagement with ethnic groups should not encourage division or hostility between communities.
Political parties have a responsibility to promote peaceful participation and avoid language that could deepen ethnic tensions.
The objective of community outreach should ideally be to build political participation around policies and shared interests rather than create divisions based on origin.
The committee's work could therefore be particularly important in promoting inclusive political participation.
By engaging different groups directly, the party can provide opportunities for residents to express concerns and participate in political discussions.
Such engagement could also encourage more residents to become informed about candidates and policies before voting.
The 2027 election is expected to be highly competitive, and political parties will likely intensify mobilisation activities as the election approaches.
The APC's early creation of the ethnic nationality committee gives it additional time to establish relationships before the campaign enters its most intense phase.
The committee will need to demonstrate that its engagement is continuous rather than limited to the months immediately preceding the election.
Community leaders are likely to judge the initiative by whether their concerns receive meaningful responses.
For the party, sustained engagement could help build trust and improve its understanding of voter priorities.
The committee also provides a structure through which campaign information can be distributed more effectively.
Different communities may have different languages and preferred communication channels.
Using community-based networks could allow political messages to reach residents who might not be reached effectively through conventional campaign activities.
However, political messaging will still need to comply with electoral laws and regulations governing campaign activities.
The party will also need to ensure that mobilisation efforts do not become associated with intimidation, vote buying or other unlawful practices.
Transparent political engagement can help strengthen public confidence in the electoral process.
The initiative may also influence how other political parties organise their own campaigns in Lagos.
If the APC's community-based approach proves effective, opposition parties may respond by establishing similar structures or strengthening their existing networks.
The result could be increased political engagement across different communities.
Competition between parties can be healthy when it encourages them to listen more closely to voters and present stronger policy proposals.
The key issue is whether political mobilisation translates into meaningful discussion about governance.
Voters are ultimately interested in how political decisions affect their lives.
Questions about transportation, security, jobs, education, healthcare, housing and the cost of living are likely to remain important during the 2027 campaign.
Community organisations can play an important role in ensuring that candidates address these issues directly.
The Lagos APC committee's mandate to listen to residents could therefore become a useful channel for gathering information about local priorities.
The party's leadership will then have to decide how those concerns are incorporated into campaign messaging and policy commitments.
The committee's membership also illustrates the effort to involve individuals with connections to different communities.
Such representation could help establish trust if members are respected within the groups they are expected to engage.
However, the success of the structure will depend on whether community representatives are able to maintain regular contact with residents rather than simply act as campaign intermediaries.
The political significance of Lagos means that the outcome of its 2027 election will attract national attention.
The state's large electorate gives it considerable weight in presidential and other elections.
For the APC, maintaining its political strength in Lagos is therefore an important component of its wider electoral strategy.
The party's new ethnic nationality mobilisation structure is one of several mechanisms it is expected to use as preparations continue.
As the 2027 elections approach, political parties will increasingly compete for support among different demographic groups.
The challenge will be to turn mobilisation into informed participation and ensure that political competition remains peaceful.
For Lagos residents, the emergence of the new committee provides another avenue through which community concerns may be presented to political actors.
Whether that opportunity produces meaningful engagement will depend on how the committee conducts its activities over the coming months.
The APC has said the initiative will involve listening, relationship-building and communication with community leaders and associations.
Those objectives could help the party better understand the concerns of residents from different backgrounds.
They could also contribute to a broader political conversation about inclusion in Lagos.
The 2027 election will ultimately be decided by voters, and political parties will need to convince citizens that their candidates and programmes deserve support.
The establishment of the new Lagos APC committee demonstrates that the party has begun preparing for that contest at the community level.
Its performance will be measured not only by the number of meetings it organises but also by its ability to establish genuine relationships, communicate effectively and respond to the concerns raised by the communities it represents.
For now, the inauguration of the Contact and Mobilisation Sub-Committee on Ethnic Nationality marks another step in the unfolding political preparations for Nigeria's 2027 general elections.
The committee is expected to begin its engagement work immediately, with the broader objective of strengthening the APC's grassroots campaign network and mobilising support across Lagos State.