APC drafts PDP, Accord, APGA into Tinubu’s campaign council

***Why Tinubu pushed for Wike, Soludo, Adeleke despite internal push-backs

***Rainbow Coalition has come to stay, Wike tells APC govs

By Omeiza Ajayi

ABUJA — To ensure a smooth sail for President Bola Tinubu in the January 16, 2027 presidential poll, the Presidency and ruling All Progressive Congress, APC, have included leading opposition figures and governors in Tinubu’s re-election council, in spite of strong push-backs from sections of the party.

In its expanded Presidential Campaign Council, PCC, that will be inaugurated today in Abuja, the APC

included Minister of Federal Capital Territory, FCT; Nyesom Wike of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP; Governor of Osun State, Ademola Adeleke of Accord; and his counterpart in Anambra State, Chukwuma Soludo of the All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA.

Wike was appointed coordinator of the party’s campaign in Rivers and the FCT, Soludo coordinator for Anambra, while Adeleke was named coordinator for Osun.

The revised list also incorporated former Gombe State governor and serving PDP Senator, Ibrahim Dankwambo, who was appointed as adviser to the Campaign Council alongside Obafemi George, who will also advise on media strategy.

Key leadership positions within the campaign hierarchy were also confirmed in the updated release.

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 Mobilization, while Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, takes on the role of 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

Mobilization.

Minister of Works, David Umahi, was appointed Deputy D-G for Infrastructure and Sensitization.

Delta State Governor, Sheriff Oborevwori, has been named Director of Finance, while Ogun State Governor, Dapo Abiodun, and Chairman of the Nigeria Revenue Service, NRS, Zacch Adedeji, will jointly coordinate fund-raising operations.

Former Kano State Governor, Abdullahi Ganduje, was named Director for Stakeholder Mobilization, while former Lagos State Governor, Babatunde Fashola, serves as the South-West Zonal Coordinator for Stakeholders’ Mobilization.

Chief Ayiri Emami was named Director for Special Duties, while former Super Eagles captain, Joseph Yobo was appointed Deputy Director for Sports Sector Mobilization.

A notable difference in the new list is the appointment of all 32 APC governors as campaign coordinators for their respective states, while Sharafadeen Alli, the party’s governorship candidate in Oyo, was appointed coordinator for the state.

For Bauchi, Mohammed Abubakar, the APC governorship candidate, was appointed campaign coordinator, while Chijioke Chukwu, the party’s flagbearer in Abia, is coordinator for the state.

Minister of Solid Minerals, Dele Alake, continues his role as Official Spokesman for the Campaign Council.

Joining the media communications team are Minister of Aviation, Festus Keyamo, Abdulmumin Jibrin, Lere Olayinka (media aide to FCT Minister Wike), and Segun Sowunmi.

In administrative and operational roles, Imo State Governor, Hope Uzodimma, continues as 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.

Unlike the first list, the new one contains 14 advisers, including Chief Bisi Akande, Aremo Segun Osoba, Secretary to the Government of the Federation, SGF, George Akume, former Cross-River south senator; Florence Ita-Giwa, former governor of Ogun State, Ibikunle Amosun, former APC national secretary, Iyiola Omisore, and former Coordinating Finance Minister, Wale Edun, among others.

The expansion of the campaign structure underlines the ruling party’s strategy to build a broad-based political coalition as momentum builds toward the 2027 general elections.

A statement by the APC National Secretary, Senator Ajibola Bashiru, said the campaign council will be inaugurated today.

Why Tinubu pushed for Wike, Soludo, Adeleke despite internal push-backs

Last night, details emerged on the strategic calculations behind President Tinubu’s decision to formally include non-APC political heavyweights, despite internal push-backs from key party stakeholders.

The move followed concerns raised by a section of APC loyalists who privately urged the President to allow the trio operate and campaign for his re-election bid from outside the formal council structure.

Party sources said opponents of the inclusion argued that integrating non-card-carrying members into official campaign structures could displace dedicated party loyalists, dilute party identity and trigger local friction in states such as Osun, Rivers and Anambra.

Presidency sources and campaign strategists revealed that President Tinubu remained firm on their formal inclusion to ensure an all-inclusive campaign structure and to establish a unified management of campaign resources across non-APC controlled strongholds.

According to insider accounts, the President’s decision was finalised only after receiving firm assurances of direct support and alignment from Wike, Soludo and Adeleke, with the agreement to trade off or retain other positions in their states.

Rather than relying on informal or parallel external support groups, President Tinubu prioritised a consolidated command centre.

“By formally designating the trio as state and regional campaign coordinators, the campaign administration aims to optimise resource allocation by consolidating campaign funding, logistics and grassroots mobilisation under single state-level coordinators to eliminate duplicated efforts and conflicting campaign machineries.

“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,” said the party source.

Addressing resistance within APC ranks, party insiders noted that President Tinubu recognised the apprehensions of party stalwarts but viewed the broader electoral arithmetic as the over-arching priority.

“By securing solid guarantees of commitment from Wike coordinating Rivers and the FCT, Governor Soludo coordinating Anambra, and Governor Adeleke coordinating Osun, the Presidency believes that pooling political weight directly within the official campaign council offers a far more effective electoral advantage than managing disconnected outside support movements,” another source added.

President Tinubu is set to officially inaugurate the unified Presidential Campaign Council, PCC, at the Presidential Villa in Abuja today, signaling a firm push towards a broad, cross-party campaign structure.

Why I’m leading Tinubu’s campaign in Rivers, FCT – Wike

Speaking on the issue, during a media chat in Abuja yesterday, Wike said the decision was based on the need to accommodate people outside the APC who are willing to contribute to Tinubu’s re-election bid.

“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.

He added that the campaign should bring together people willing to support Tinubu’s continuation in office, regardless of their party affiliations.

Rainbow Coalition has come to stay, Wike tells APC govs

Wike also declared that his Rainbow Coalition backing President Bola Tinubu’s re-election has come to stay, saying there was “nothing anybody can do about it.”

Asked if his inclusion in the APC PCC had silenced his critics, who were mainly APC governors, he said: “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.”

Speaking in his monthly media chat, he dismissed suggestions that the coalition had unsettled APC governors or could encourage defections from the ruling party, and challenged anyone unhappy with the arrangement to take the matter up with him directly.

“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’s activities in Rivers State and the FCT, said the initiative puts 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.

The minister, who noted that the coalition was not meant to displace APC, said the party remains the platform on which the president will seek re-election, while supporters outside it could work towards the same goal.

“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.

He pointed to the FCT as proof that the arrangement works, adding that “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?”

Wike also rejected the idea that the arrangement is new in Nigerian politics, adding that such backing existed before without being formalised.

“But this time, it came out because of the period we are in,” he said.

He accused opposition politicians of misleading Nigerians about Tinubu’s performance, saying “whether anybody likes it or not, Mr President has done well.”

To show that praise for the president could come from outside the APC, he pointed to remarks attributed to the governor of Bauchi State, Bala Mohammed, of the Allied Peoples Movement, APM, acknowledging aspects of Tinubu’s performance.

“Politics must not be played as a do-or-die affair,” Wike said, adding that he had never hidden where he stood.

Only baby politicians’re kicking against Rainbow Coalition

Wike also said only baby politicians were kicking against the Rainbow Coalition, citing Edo State, where he said a similar cross-party alliance defeated the then governor’s preferred successor.

He dismissed claims that backing President Bola Tinubu through the coalition would confuse supporters of other parties.

He said he had told his supporters to back the president, while also telling them their own National Assembly candidates mattered.

“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.

Wike then turned to Edo, where, he said, the then governor, Godwin Obaseki, was determined to install a successor.

He said he supported the APC, though he belonged to the PDP, adding “I did not support Obaseki, even though I was and still a member of PDP.”

He said a PDP faction known as the Legacy group led by the late Chief Dan Orbih had joined hands with APC.

“That legacy group and APC now met to work together, and that was how they defeated Obaseki’s successor. If we did not do that, it would have been difficult for APC to defeat Obaseki,” he explained.

Tinubu will win on first ballot

The minister equally declared that President Tinubu will win the 2027 presidential election on the first ballot, ruling out the possibility of a run-off.

“I have not seen any likelihood of a run-off,” he said.

Asked about the legacy Tinubu will be leaving behind should he lose re-election, Wike said: “It will be wrong for me to even answer that kind of question. He will be returned. Nigerians will return him.”

Wike also denied working against three governors of the APC, including Hope Uzodimma of Imo State; AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq of Kwara State; and Inuwa Yahaya of Gombe State.

According to him, it will be wrong to accuse him of sponsoring candidates against the governors.

“It is very much unfair,” he said.

Wike, who insisted his party is entitled to field candidates, said further: “I am not in their party. So you can’t tell me my party cannot have candidates.”

He said backing the president did not stop him from doing that.

“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.

Wike said he made no deal with the governors, citing Uzodimma as proof of his good faith and invited the governor to say whether he had backed him in his second-term bid.

“Ask Governor Hope. If he is a sincere person, he will tell you the role I played in his re-election,” Wike said.

He said politicians commonly hope their rivals would stumble, adding that every person prayed for his opponent to make a mistake.

“So, I have no hand”, he said of the situation in Kwara between the governor and former Senate President, Bukola Saraki.

Why Fubara isn’t coordinating Tinubu’s campaign in Rivers

The minister said he is coordinating President Tinubu’s re-election campaign in Rivers State because the situation there is peculiar.

Rivers is the only state the campaign is not coordinated by a sitting APC governor, Siminalayi Fubara, adding that the job called for a particular kind of leadership.

“Look, in an election, it takes a lot of leadership, there are a lot of things that are involved. You require somebody who has a buy-in,” Wike said.

Describing the situation in Rivers as “peculiar,” Wike rejected the suggestion that Governor Fubara had been sidelined.

“No, he has not been pushed aside,” he said.

Asked whether Fubara would be involved in the campaign, he replied: “Of course,”, adding that the governor will take part at every level, from the state to the national.

Wike, who noted that Fubara is not an unwilling participant in the president’s campaign, said: “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.”

Wike blames ‘some govs’ for rift with Fubara

The minister blamed some governors for the rift between him and Fubara, saying they are now working together and that Fubara is happily working for PresidentTinubu.

He said people who never meant well for the governor were behind the trouble.

“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 when he leaves office next year, Wike said the decision is not his.

“I am not the president to choose who will be a minister. I don’t have right to nominate,” he stressed..

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