President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has constituted the All Progressives Congress Presidential Campaign Council for the 2027 general elections, appointing former Zamfara State Governor, Senator Abdulaziz Yari, as its Director-General.
The composition of the council was announced in a statement issued on Saturday by Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy.
Under the arrangement, President Tinubu will serve as Chairman of the campaign council, while Vice President Kashim Shettima will be the Vice Chairman.
The APC National Chairman, Professor Nentawe Yilwatda, will also serve as Vice Chairman.
Yari, who previously served as governor of Zamfara State and remains a prominent figure within the ruling party, will coordinate the campaign as Director-General, while Imo State Governor, Hope Uzodimma, has been appointed Secretary.
The APC National Secretary, Senator Ajibola Bashiru, and Hadiza Bala-Usman will serve as Deputy Secretary and Assistant Secretary respectively.
The campaign council will also have a team of senior political figures serving as advisers to President Tinubu. They include former APC National Chairman, Chief Bisi Akande; former Ogun State Governor, Chief Segun Osoba; former Imo State Governor, Senator Rochas Okorocha; former APC National Chairman, Senator Abdullahi Adamu; and Senator Florence Ita Giwa.
The council has also assigned senior party and government officials to oversee its operations across the country.
Senate President Godswill Akpabio, House of Representatives Speaker Tajudeen Abbas and Yobe State Governor Mai Mala Buni have been appointed Deputy Directors-General for the campaign in the southern and northern parts of the country.
They will work alongside Senator Opeyemi Bamidele and Senator Jibril Barau in coordinating the two zones.
Former Edo State Governor, Senator Adams Oshiomhole, will serve as Deputy Director-General in charge of mobilisation, while the President’s Chief of Staff will oversee administration as Deputy Director-General.
James Abiodun Faleke, who played a major role in the APC’s 2022/2023 presidential campaign, has also returned to the campaign structure as Deputy Director-General in charge of election planning, coordination and monitoring.
Faleke will work with zonal directors appointed to coordinate activities across the six geopolitical zones. Senator Olushola Adeyeye will oversee the South-West, Dr Ngozi Olejeme the South-South, Senator Uche Ekwunife the South-East, Muntaqha Rabe the North-West, Ahmed Muhammed Ketso the North-Central and Senator Sani Danladi the North-East.
Stella Okotete, Engineer Abdullahi Garba Ramat and Audu Maikori will serve as secretaries within the election planning directorate.
The legal directorate will be headed by Muiz Adeyemi Banire, with Dr Liman Hassan and Babatunde Ogala serving as deputies. Other members of the legal team include Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Prince Lateef Fagbemi; former Katsina State Governor Ibrahim Shema; Worgu Boms and Dr Kingsley Tochukwu Udeh.
The campaign council also unveiled its media and strategic communication structure, with the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris Malagi, appointed Coordinating Director for Media and Strategic Communication.
He will work with Dele Alake, Bayo Onanuga and Lanre Issa-Onilu, while Tunde Rahman, Sunday Dare, Daniel Bwala and Felix Morka will serve as coordinating deputy directors.
Abdulaziz AbdulAziz, Temitope Ajayi, Arabinrin Aderonke and Frederick Nwabufor have been appointed coordinating secretaries of the media directorate.
Segun Dada will return as Director of New Media, a position he held during the 2022/2023 campaign, while Solomon Arowolo will serve as Secretary of New Media.
The campaign has also named five spokespersons, led by Dele Alake. Others are Alwan Hassan, Ayobami Oyalowo, Kemi Asekun-Shittu and Adamu Fanda.
The announcement comes as political parties and presidential hopefuls intensify preparations for the 2027 elections. The presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress Atiku Abubakar and that of the Nigerian Democratic Congress Peter Obi held live broadcasts this week to kick off their campaigns.
President Tinubu has charged members of the campaign council to work tirelessly towards securing victory for the APC in the January 2027 elections.
The President also directed leaders of the various directorates to bring other party members into the campaign effort, even if such individuals were not included in the formally released list.
According to Tinubu, the APC campaign will be built around the administration’s achievements and its claim that the country is moving towards stronger economic conditions.
“We have delivered on our campaign promises and set our country on a path of economic progress. We are definitely out of the dark tunnel and are now at the cusp of reaping the benefits of a prosperous economy that will benefit all Nigerians,” the President said.
He urged members of the campaign to present the administration’s record to voters as the election approaches.
“As we march into the campaign season, we have many achievements to trumpet—let us confidently showcase our record and inspire hope in every corner of our nation,” Tinubu said.
The President further called on the campaign team to work towards defeating opposition forces seeking to replace the APC government.
“Let us soundly defeat all those forces who plan to take our country backwards,” he added.
The development follows recent comments by ADC chieftain Dele Momodu, who said he would support Tinubu if the President remained committed to the democratic principles for which they fought during Nigeria’s military era.
Momodu made the comments during an interview on Arise TV on Thursday, August 20, while explaining that his opposition to the Tinubu administration was based on principle rather than personal hostility towards the President.
The veteran journalist and politician said his concern was that Nigeria could replace military dictatorship with what he described as “civilian dictatorship.”
“I will ordinarily swim to the depth of the Atlantic Ocean for Tinubu if he was practising what we fought against when we were fighting the military,” Momodu said.
“There is no earthly reason why I would not, but I would be a bloody hypocrite if after we claimed to have changed the way of military dictatorship, we now replace it with civilian dictatorship. That’s my only problem with him.”
Momodu, however, maintained that he continued to have tremendous respect for Tinubu, whom he credited with influencing his political development and encouraging him to challenge established authority.
“Everything else, you see, when they are abusing him, you won’t see me abusing him.
“I have tremendous regards for him, and he was one of those who trained me and instilled this kind of discipline that, look, you can take on the establishment and win. And he did win,” he said.
He also acknowledged Tinubu’s political record in Lagos, saying it helped transform him from a regional political figure into a major national politician.
“And that is why that was the record he carried from Lagos as a local champion to a national champion,” Momodu added.
