Hakeem Oladimeji Lawal, son of the late former Kwara State Governor, Muhammad Alabi Lawal, has dismissed reports linking him to the All Progressives Congress (APC) deputy governorship ticket for the 2027 election.

Lawal, who contested the 2023 governorship election on the platform of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), described the claim as social media propaganda while declaring his support for the APC and its leadership in Kwara.

He spoke in Ilorin at a stakeholders' engagement convened to bring together members of his late father's political family and discuss their direction ahead of the 2027 elections.

"All that is propaganda. All that is social media talk. Don't follow social media talk," Lawal said when asked about the reported deputy governorship ticket.

Rather than leave his political position open to speculation, the former SDP candidate said he belonged to the APC and backed President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq and the party's 2027 governorship candidate, Yakubu Danladi Salihu.

"I've been silent all the while and people have been asking where I belong, but I belong to APC. For the opposition, let them remain in opposition for 40 years; for us, we will keep winning," he said.

Lawal also appealed to aggrieved members of the party to return, arguing that political opportunities would come to members at the appropriate time.

"Some people have tasted both and they can see the difference. Let all of us come back to the party and work for victory. It is by turn, we will all benefit," he said.

His comments came against the backdrop of internal disagreements within the Kwara APC, particularly concerns surrounding the G15 group.

Lawal described members of the group as brothers and rejected suggestions that their differences had become irreconcilable.

"G15, they are our brothers. They are part of us; we are all together; we are in this struggle together," he said.

He said political disagreements were normal within any family but should be addressed through dialogue rather than confrontation.

"I believe that with family, you have misunderstandings, but you will come together and sit around the table, discuss and find a way forward," he said.

According to him, the APC had overcome similar disagreements in the past and would again resolve its present challenges.

"We have had misunderstandings in the past, we resolved them, and this will be no different from any other one. We will resolve it and move forward together," Lawal said.

He further urged party members to remain committed to the APC, describing it as their political home.

"What we have left, we have left, we are not going back again. Because if they returned us back, it will affect all of us. Our party is APC, APC is our house," he said.

The APC State Deputy Chairman, Abdullahi Samari, also acknowledged the difficulties confronting the party but expressed confidence that they would be resolved before the 2027 election.

"Things will be better than this before the election. It is a tough time for our party. But we will win the election because we are still in charge," Samari said.

He urged members to avoid confrontation with aggrieved politicians and instead persuade those who had left the party to return.

"When you see those who have left, don't fight them, persuade them to come back," he said.