A prominent support group, the Renewed Hope Street Crusaders (RHSC), has called on all aspirants on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC) to embrace unity, decorum, and political maturity as the party prepares for its primaries ahead of the 2027 general elections.
This was contained in a statement issued and signed by the National Coordinator of the group, Yinka Richards, and made available to journalists on Tuesday.
The group cautioned party faithful against inflammatory rhetoric, divisive manoeuvres, and actions capable of undermining the cohesion of the party at a critical political juncture.
Richards stressed that, while internal contests are inevitable in a democratic setting, the greater task before the APC lies in preserving collective strength beyond the primaries in order to secure electoral victory at the national polls.
According to him, although a fractured political party may succeed in producing candidates, only a united political structure can ultimately secure victory in a general election.
He said: “At this delicate hour, we must speak to ourselves with candour, but also with restraint. We must remind ourselves that a political party is not a battlefield; it is a family.
“Even in the most spirited family, the roof must never be pulled down because one room appears warmer than another.”
The group further noted that divergent ambitions, loyalties, regional interests, and political calculations are natural features of democratic engagement, adding that democracy was designed not to extinguish ambition but to refine and civilise it.
“We are members of one political household. We may have different aspirations, different loyalists, different zones of influence, and different preferred outcomes. That is the essence of democracy.
“What matters is our ability to compete without destroying one another, disagree without descending into hostility, and lose without setting ablaze the very platform that amplified our voices,” Richards.
The national coordinator of the group commended the Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, for his unalloyed support for the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, through the promotion of different support groups that are engaging in massive grassroots mobilisation in Ondo State and the Southwest at large.
He said: “The Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, has given us the necessary support for the actualization of President Tinubu’s re-election in 2027.
“He is the pillar behind the support the President is enjoying in Ondo State, and we are committed to this assignment.”
However, Richards condemned recent attacks on the Minister, calling on him not to be distracted from his focus on building the party and the Nation at large.
He, therefore, warned APC members against yielding to the machinations of what he described as “mischief-makers” and vested political interests seeking to profit from internal discord.
RHSC noted that political actors often deployed narratives of marginalisation and exclusion to provoke suspicion among party stakeholders and inflame tensions ahead of internal contests.
The statement reads further, “There will always be those who whisper that one leader has been slighted, that one bloc has been excluded, or that one interest has been buried.
“These are familiar tricks in the theatre of politics. Their objective is to sow distrust, provoke division, and transform comrades into adversaries even before the real contest begins.”
The group maintained that disagreements within political parties should never be interpreted as betrayal, stressing that ambition must be pursued within the bounds of civility, discipline, and institutional loyalty.
Drawing reference to the leadership style of President Tinubu, Richards described the President as a consummate coalition-builder whose politics of accommodation and inclusiveness should serve as a guiding template for party members.
He further urged party leaders and electoral committees to ensure transparency, fairness, and credibility throughout the primary process, while also addressing grievances promptly to forestall avoidable crises capable of weakening the party ahead of the 2027 elections.
