By Beatrice Gondyi
The ruling All Progressives Congress has thrown its presidential campaign structure open to prominent opposition figures, drafting ministers and governors from the Peoples Democratic Party, the All Progressives Grand Alliance and Accord into President Bola Tinubu’s re-election council ahead of the January 16, 2027 poll.
In an expanded Presidential Campaign Council to be inaugurated today in Abuja, the party named the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike of the PDP, as coordinator for Rivers State and the FCT; Anambra State Governor, Chukwuma Soludo of APGA, as coordinator for Anambra; and Osun State Governor, Ademola Adeleke of Accord, as coordinator for Osun.
The revised list also brought in former Gombe State governor and serving PDP Senator, Ibrahim Dankwambo, as an adviser to the council, alongside Obafemi George, who will advise on media strategy.
The move did not come without resistance. Party sources said a section of APC loyalists had privately pressed the President to let the three opposition figures campaign for him from outside the formal council, arguing that admitting non-card-carrying members could push out dedicated party stalwarts, blur the party’s identity and spark friction in states such as Osun, Rivers and Anambra.
President Tinubu, however, stood his ground. Insiders said he only firmed up the decision after receiving direct assurances of support and alignment from Wike, Soludo and Adeleke, with agreements reached on which positions to trade off or retain in their respective states.
According to a party source, the President opted for a consolidated command centre rather than informal or parallel support groups, so that campaign funding, logistics and grassroots mobilisation could be pooled under single state-level coordinators and avoid duplicated efforts.
“Furthermore, this approach builds a genuine coalition that transcends traditional party lines, while bringing influential allies into an accountable structure directly overseen by the President and the campaign directorate,” the source said.
Another insider said the President weighed the concerns of party stalwarts but placed greater premium on the broader electoral arithmetic, noting that pooling the political weight of Wike, Soludo and Adeleke inside the official council was more valuable than managing disconnected outside movements.
Senator Abdulaziz Yari retained his position as Director-General of the re-election campaign. Former Edo State Governor, Senator Adams Oshiomhole, serves as Deputy Director-General for Mobilisation, while the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, is Deputy Director-General for Administration.
Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Benjamin Kalu, was named Deputy D-G South II, while the Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly, Martin Amaewhule, will serve as South-South Deputy Coordinator for State Assemblies Mobilisation.
Minister of Works, David Umahi, was appointed Deputy D-G for Infrastructure and Sensitisation. Delta State Governor, Sheriff Oborevwori, takes charge as Director of Finance, while Ogun State Governor, Dapo Abiodun, and the Chairman of the Nigeria Revenue Service, Zacch Adedeji, will jointly coordinate fund-raising.
Former Kano State Governor, Abdullahi Ganduje, was named Director for Stakeholder Mobilisation, with former Lagos State Governor, Babatunde Fashola, as South-West Zonal Coordinator for Stakeholders’ Mobilisation. Chief Ayiri Emami is Director for Special Duties, while former Super Eagles captain, Joseph Yobo, was appointed Deputy Director for Sports Sector Mobilisation.
A notable feature of the new list is the appointment of all 32 APC governors as campaign coordinators in their respective states, while Sharafadeen Alli, the party’s governorship candidate in Oyo, was named coordinator for the state. In Bauchi, Mohammed Abubakar, the APC governorship candidate, takes charge, just as Chijioke Chukwu, the party’s flagbearer in Abia, coordinates that state.
Minister of Solid Minerals, Dele Alake, continues as Official Spokesman for the Campaign Council. The media and communications team also includes Minister of Aviation, Festus Keyamo; Abdulmumin Jibrin; Lere Olayinka, media aide to Wike; and Segun Sowunmi.
Imo State Governor, Hope Uzodimma, remains Secretary of the Campaign Council, supported by APC National Secretary, Senator Ajibola Bashiru, and Hadiza Bala-Usman as Deputy and Assistant Secretaries respectively. Representative James Faleke will serve as Deputy Director-General for Election Planning, Coordination and Monitoring.
The new list also contains 14 advisers, among them former interim APC National Chairman, Chief Bisi Akande; Aremo Segun Osoba; Secretary to the Government of the Federation, George Akume; former Cross River South senator, Florence Ita-Giwa; former Ogun State governor, Ibikunle Amosun; former APC national secretary, Iyiola Omisore; and former Coordinating Minister of Finance, Wale Edun.
A statement by the APC National Secretary, Senator Ajibola Bashiru, said the campaign council would be inaugurated today.
Speaking during a media chat in Abuja yesterday, Wike said his decision to lead the campaign in Rivers and the FCT stemmed from the need to accommodate people outside the APC who are willing to work for Tinubu’s re-election.
“My thinking is that the president, in his wisdom, said there are those who are not members of our political parties but have something to offer to his re-election, and it’s proper to accommodate them,” he said.
Wike also declared that his Rainbow Coalition backing Tinubu’s re-election has come to stay, saying there was “nothing anybody can do about it.”
Asked whether his inclusion in the APC campaign council had silenced his critics, mainly APC governors, he dismissed the suggestion of any friction.
“I don’t know where you are getting all these from. Problem that does not exist. I don’t know what concerns there are. As far as I am concerned, there is no problem,” he said.
He challenged anyone unhappy with the arrangement to confront him directly rather than hide behind the coalition.
“If you have any problem against me, come out and face Wike. Don’t go under the Rainbow Coalition. For Rainbow Coalition, it has come. It will stay. There is nothing anybody can do about it,” he said.
Wike, who coordinates the coalition in Rivers and the FCT, explained that the initiative places APC members and Tinubu’s supporters in other parties on one platform.
“If you see that word, PBAT/APC, it means those who are supporting the president who are not members of the party, together with the party, are working together to achieve that purpose,” he said.
He cited Governors Soludo and Adeleke as political figures associated with the coalition’s state-level coordination, and stressed that the arrangement was not designed to displace the APC, which remains the platform on which the President will seek re-election.
“The major thing is Mr President. Whatever we are going to do, whoever has any idea or anything to contribute is to the success of Mr President. That is the whole thing,” he said.
Citing the FCT as proof the arrangement works, he said: “We are going to vote for Mr. President, and the National Assembly candidates are for APC. Why would anybody say there is a problem there?”
He rejected the notion that the arrangement was new in Nigerian politics, saying such backing existed before without being formalised, adding that it came to the fore this time because of the period the country is in. He also accused opposition politicians of misleading Nigerians about Tinubu’s performance, insisting “whether anybody likes it or not, Mr President has done well.”
Wike described those kicking against the Rainbow Coalition as baby politicians, recalling Edo State, where he said a similar cross-party alliance defeated the then governor’s preferred successor.
“Anybody who says he does not recognise the importance of rainbow coalition is not a politician. Anybody who said that is a baby politician. Is there any conflict? There is no conflict. How does it confuse people?” he queried.
He recounted how he backed the APC in Edo despite being a PDP member, noting that the party’s victory over Governor Godwin Obaseki’s anointed successor would have been difficult without the alliance.
The minister declared that Tinubu will win the 2027 presidential election on the first ballot, ruling out a run-off.
“I have not seen any likelihood of a run-off,” he said, adding that it would be wrong to entertain questions about the President losing, because “he will be returned. Nigerians will return him.”
He also denied working against three APC governors — Hope Uzodimma of Imo, AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq of Kwara and Inuwa Yahaya of Gombe — describing the accusation as unfair and insisting his party was entitled to field candidates at other levels.
“The mere fact I supported President Tinubu, which I did in 2023, and I am still doing does not mean we cannot field candidates at other levels,” he said.
Why Fubara isn’t coordinating Tinubu’s campaign in Rivers — Wike
Wike explained that Rivers is the only state where the campaign is not coordinated by a sitting APC governor, Siminalayi Fubara, saying the job required a particular kind of leadership and someone with a buy-in.
Describing the situation in the state as peculiar, he rejected claims that Fubara had been pushed aside, saying the governor remains fully involved at every level.
“He is happy with the role we are giving him. If he is not happy, why would you hold a meeting in his house? Do you know what it takes to hold a meeting in his house for everybody to be there? Fubara is fully a member, fully plays his part. What is of concern to Fubara, whether he is running or not, is to keep his political family intact,” he said.
Wike blamed some governors for the rift between him and Fubara, saying the two have since reconciled and are now working together for the President.
“We are all one, we have forgiven each other, we have come together, but the truth still remains the evil works of some Nigerians is the cause,” he said.
Asked whether he was positioning Fubara for a ministerial role after his tenure, Wike said the decision rests with the President. “I am not the president to choose who will be a minister. I don’t have right to nominate,” he said.
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