By Beatrice Gondyi
Former Kano State Governor and 2027 NDC Vice-Presidential candidate, Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, has called on Senator Abdul’aziz Yari to reject his appointment as Director-General of the All Progressives Congress Presidential Campaign Council.
Kwankwaso’s appeal comes just days after the APC constituted its over 200-member campaign structure for the 2027 presidential election.
President Bola Tinubu and Vice President Kashim Shettima will serve as chairman and vice chairman of the council, while former Zamfara State governor Senator Abdulaziz Yari was named Director-General.
Imo State Governor Hope Uzodimma was appointed secretary. The announcement was made on Saturday, August 22, 2026, in a statement signed by Presidential Spokesperson Bayo Onanuga.
Kwankwaso, who is running on the Nigeria Democratic Congress ticket, described the 2027 election as a “struggle between the oppressed Nigerian masses and those who have benefited from, defended and sustained the system responsible for their hardship.”
He expressed concern that the APC campaign council brings together many of the same political actors who have supported or participated in the present administration, raising questions about whether Nigerians are being asked to vote for a new beginning or the continuation of a system that has brought severe hardship.
Kwankwaso noted that families across the country are struggling with rising food costs, young Nigerians face unemployment and diminishing opportunities, farmers and businesses are struggling to survive, and insecurity continues to plague millions. Education, healthcare, and other essential public services remain under enormous pressure, he added.
The former governor made a personal appeal to Senator Yari, who also serves as Senator representing Zamfara West.
“As a former governor of Zamfara State and a prominent leader from the North-West, I believe Senator Yari has a clear understanding of the devastating consequences of insecurity, poverty, unemployment, displacement and the destruction of livelihoods in the region and the country at large,” Kwankwaso said.
Kwankwaso expressed surprise that Yari, “in his good conscience, 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 also raised concerns about the inclusion of the Executive Chairman of the Nigeria Revenue Service, Dr Zacch Adedeji, and the Director-General of the Budget Office of the Federation, Dr Tanimu Yakubu Kurfi, in the campaign’s fundraising and finance structures.
“The leadership of critical public institutions demands neutrality, integrity and public confidence,” Kwankwaso said. “It is therefore legitimate to ask whether the responsibilities of senior officials entrusted with managing public revenue and national finances can appropriately coexist with senior partisan campaign roles.”
He called on the government and the APC to explain how such arrangements are consistent with institutional neutrality and public trust.
Senator Yari has already accepted the appointment, promising to deliver victory for President Tinubu and the APC in the 2027 presidential election.
“My sincere thanks go to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the party for the trust placed in me, and to our party leadership for the confidence. I do not take it lightly,” Yari said in a statement published on his social media handles.
He added: “A campaign is more than an election. It is a conversation with the Nigerian people in every state, every language, every faith about the future we are building together. We intend to lead that conversation with discipline, unity, and respect for all.”
Meanwhile, Senator Kawu Sumaila, representing Kano South, has urged the Yari-led campaign council to acknowledge the economic hardships confronting Nigerians and demonstrate genuine empathy.
Sumaila warned that any attempt by the campaign to ignore the suffering of Nigerians could widen the gulf between the government and electorate and ultimately damage the party’s electoral prospects. He also called for internal unity within the APC, urging party leaders to heal internal rifts ahead of the 2027 contest
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