Funso Doherty declares 2027 Lagos governorship bid, says APC can be defeated

…”Nigeria more divided, poorer under APC”

Funso Doherty, a former governorship candidate in Lagos State, has declared that he will contest again in the 2027 elections, expressing confidence that the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) can be unseated in the state.

Speaking during his appearance on Silverbird Television on Thursday, Doherty said the notion that Lagos is an impregnable APC stronghold is false, pointing to the outcome of the 2023 presidential election as evidence.

“In the last presidential election, who won Lagos? APC lost Lagos. That’s a fact,” he said. “So, the premise that Lagos is irrevocably tied to the APC and cannot be dislodged is faulty.”

He confirmed his readiness to run again under the PDP banner. “I will be in the race in 2027, by the grace of God, God willing, and God giving us life and strength, absolutely with the PDP,” Doherty declared.

The politician said that the people, not the political establishment, will determine the outcome of the next elections.

“At the end of the day, in 2027, the decision people are going to make is whether they are faced with a strong candidate and what their options are,” he noted. “The people are going to decide it in 2027.”

On the national political climate, he criticised the
APC-led federal government for worsening poverty and ethnic divisions across the country.

“We are more divided today than we have ever been as a people,” he said. “Ethnic tensions are probably higher today than they were when this administration took over.”

Doherty described Nigeria as a country split between “a nation of the few and a nation of the many.”

While the government celebrates exchange rate stability and reserve build-up, he said, the majority of Nigerians are battling declining living standards. “When you talk about the quality of life of the people, education, health, income levels, poverty, you see that economically, we are in a very difficult place,” he stated.

The PDP candidate also called for a stronger, more independent electoral body ahead of 2027. “People are looking for an INEC that will follow its own rules,” he said.

“Even if we don’t get an amendment of the Electoral Act, at least implement faithfully the act that we presently have.”

He added that while Nigerians still face challenges with electoral integrity, overwhelming voter turnout can overcome manipulation.

“If the people come out and 80 percent of them say this is the person I want, even today, that person will prevail,” he said. “We want to move away from a situation where people have to scream to make their votes count.”

He called for practical political reforms rather than idealistic debates. “Between now and 2027, the process of appointing the INEC chairman is not going to change,” he said. “Let’s understand that and work with the practicalities that lie before us.”