The composition of President Bola Tinubu’s 2027 Presidential Campaign Council has continued to generate political controversy, with the African Democratic Congress challenging claims that the President is certain to win re-election, while reports indicate that the Presidency is reviewing parts of the campaign list following concerns over controversial inclusions, notable omissions and possible conflicts of interest.
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The controversy intensified after the council’s Director-General and former Zamfara State Governor, Senator Abdul’Aziz Yari, declared that Tinubu would win the 2027 presidential election and that the ruling All Progressives Congress would remain in power beyond 2031.
Yari made the prediction at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, shortly after his unveiling as Director-General of Tinubu’s re-election campaign. President Tinubu chairs the campaign council, while Vice-President Kashim Shettima and APC National Chairman Prof. Nentawe Yilwatda serve as vice-chairmen, with Imo State Governor Hope Uzodimma as secretary.
ADC National Chairman and former Senate President, Senator David Mark, dismissed Yari’s prediction as “wishful thinking,” arguing that it did not reflect the political reality confronting Nigerians.
Speaking through his media aide, Kola Ologbondiyan, Mark said the APC and Tinubu lacked a compelling message with which to approach voters in 2027.
“Senator Yari’s assertion is wishful thinking which is completely at variance with the reality in our country,” Mark said.
“Foremost, his party, the APC, and its president, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, have no message to present to Nigerian voters. How can he fathom a win in an election where they can’t communicate with the people?”
ADC National Publicity Secretary Bolaji Abdullahi also attacked Yari’s projection, saying those assuring Tinubu of an easy victory were failing to give the President an accurate picture of the political situation.
“He’s one of those lying to President Tinubu. We understand he needs to justify his new appointment,” Abdullahi said.
He recalled that the Peoples Democratic Party once boasted that it would rule Nigeria for 80 years but eventually lost power.
“We also recall that the PDP once boasted that it would rule Nigeria for 80 years. But what happened?” he asked.
Abdullahi went further to question the organisational strength of the APC, saying: “At least, the PDP was a real political party, not this SPV.”
He argued that political dominance should never be taken for granted because history had shown that confident predictions did not always translate into electoral victory.
Meanwhile, reports citing sources within the Presidency and APC indicate that the composition of the campaign council is being reviewed following complaints over several appointments and omissions.
According to the report, three broad concerns have emerged: the inclusion of some individuals facing allegations of financial impropriety, the omission of experienced political figures who played significant roles in previous campaigns and names left out through what sources described as human error.
Sources said the concerns had contributed to the delay in announcing a date for the formal inauguration of the campaign council. They, however, indicated that the council’s leadership including Yari as Director-General and Uzodimma as secretary was unlikely to be affected by the adjustments.
Among the appointments that generated criticism were those of former Minister of Humanitarian Affairs Betta Edu, named Director of Women Mobilisation, and former Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund board chair Ngozi Olejeme, appointed South-South Zonal Director for Election Planning, Coordination and Mobilisation.
Both women have previously faced allegations relating to financial impropriety while in public office, although their respective circumstances and legal positions differ and the allegations should not be treated as findings of guilt.
Questions were also raised over the inclusion of the Chairman of the Nigeria Revenue Service, Zacch Adedeji, as Deputy Director of Fundraising, given the sensitivity of his public office.
The reported review also focuses on prominent APC figures omitted from the initial list despite their previous campaign experience.
Those named include Aviation and Aerospace Development Minister Festus Keyamo, SAN, who served as spokesman and Director of Public Affairs of the APC Presidential Campaign Council in 2023; former Plateau State Governor Simon Lalong, who was Director-General of the 2023 campaign council; and former governors Yahaya Bello, Gbenga Daniel and Ibikunle Amosun.
Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives Benjamin Kalu, as well as some senators expected to feature in state campaign structures, were reportedly among those omitted through oversight.
A source familiar with previous APC campaigns said revisions of campaign lists were not unprecedented, recalling that the first campaign council list prepared ahead of the 2023 election was also withdrawn and adjusted before inauguration.
There were also questions about the absence of Katsina State Governor Dikko Radda from the council, despite his support for the Tinubu administration. Radda has, however, reiterated his commitment to the President’s re-election.
Efforts by the publication that reported the review to obtain official comments from presidential aides Bayo Onanuga, Daniel Bwala and Tunde Rahman were unsuccessful at the time of filing, meaning the reported review had not been publicly confirmed by those officials.
The campaign council also drew criticism from Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, vice-presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress, who said Nigerians deserved a “new direction” rather than a continuation of what he described as a system associated with severe economic hardship.
Kwankwaso argued that the presence of several political figures identified with the current administration gave voters a clear picture of the choice before them.
“The council brings together many of the same political actors who have supported, defended or participated in the present administration,” he said.
“Their coming together raises a fundamental question: what exactly are they asking Nigerians to vote for in 2027, a new beginning, or the continuation of the same system that has brought severe hardship to our people?”
He cited rising food prices, unemployment, insecurity and pressure on essential services as major challenges confronting Nigerians.
Kwankwaso also appealed directly to Yari to reconsider accepting the position of campaign Director-General, arguing that as a former Zamfara governor and a prominent North-West politician, he understood the impact of insecurity, poverty, displacement, unemployment and the destruction of livelihoods.
“I will be surprised if, in his good conscience, he will lead a campaign whose principal objective is to secure the continuation of a government under which many of the people he once governed, and other innocent Nigerians, remain trapped in these challenges,” Kwankwaso said.
He also questioned the participation of officials occupying strategic public financial positions in partisan campaign structures.
Kwankwaso specifically mentioned Adedeji and the Director-General of the Budget Office of the Federation, Dr. Tanimu Yakubu Kurfi, arguing that public institutions responsible for national revenue and finances should command neutrality, integrity and public confidence.
He challenged both the government and the APC to explain how such appointments were consistent with institutional neutrality and public trust.
Former Kogi West Senator Dino Melaye also announced plans to challenge Adedeji’s campaign appointment in court, alleging a potential conflict of interest.
“You are serving as the country’s Chairman of Nigerian Revenue Service, NRS, formally known as FIRS. Is there no conflict in this? As a lawyer, by the grace of God, on Monday, I’m going to court. We have to test that,” Melaye said.
He also questioned President Tinubu’s decision to serve as chairman of his own presidential campaign council.
Meanwhile, Defence Minister Gen. Christopher Musa defended his inclusion in the campaign council, assuring Nigerians that his political assignment would not interfere with his responsibility for national security.
Speaking through his Special Assistant on Media, Leah Katung-Babatunde, Musa described the appointment as a call to higher service and pledged to carry out his campaign responsibilities with diligence and focus.
“National security remains our highest imperative. The ongoing operations, strategic reforms, and inter-agency collaborations across the defence sector will continue unabated with increased vigour,” he said.
“Our resolve to uphold the mandate of the Ministry of Defence, protect our people, and drive Mr. President’s vision for a safe and prosperous Nigeria remains firm and unshakeable.”
He expressed confidence that the APC would succeed in the election while continuing to deliver governance and security.
An APC North-West grassroots mobilisation organisation, APC Daga Titi Zuwa Titi, subsequently defended Yari and accused Kwankwaso and the opposition of being unsettled by his appointment.
The group’s National Coordinator, Comrade Jaafar Hassan, argued that Kwankwaso’s decision to specifically appeal to Yari to abandon the campaign role demonstrated the importance the opposition attached to his appointment.
According to the group, politicians rarely advise their opponents to give up positions they consider politically insignificant.
The developments have turned the newly constituted Tinubu campaign council into an early battleground ahead of the 2027 presidential election, with attention now focused not only on the political strength of its leadership but also on the reported review of its membership, questions of institutional neutrality and the broader contest between the APC and opposition parties over the direction of the country.
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