Attah Ede and Fidelia Soriwei, Abuja
President Bola Tinubu’s expanded 2027 re-election campaign council has appointed FCT Minister Nyesom Wike, Osun State Governor Ademola Adeleke and Anambra State Governor Chukwuma Soludo as campaign coordinators in states where they do not belong to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
Wike, a prominent Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) figure, will coordinate the campaign in Rivers State and the Federal Capital Territory. Adeleke, who won re-election under the Accord Party, will oversee the campaign in Osun, while Soludo, a member of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), will lead Tinubu’s campaign in Anambra.
The appointments form part of the APC’s revised presidential campaign council, which Tinubu is scheduled to inaugurate at the Presidential Villa in Abuja on Wednesday. The arrangement brings opposition-affiliated politicians into key positions as the ruling party prepares for the 2027 general election.
Wike’s appointment in Rivers is notable because Governor Siminalayi Fubara, who belongs to the APC, was excluded from coordinating the presidential campaign in his state. The revised arrangement assigns state-level campaign coordination roles to APC governors, with Rivers standing out as an exception.
The decision comes amid the prolonged political dispute between Wike and Fubara, raising questions about how the APC will manage competing political interests in Rivers while mobilising support for Tinubu’s second-term bid.
Adeleke’s appointment also comes against the background of his political relationship with the APC. The Star reported that the governor had sought to join the ruling party before the Osun governorship election but was blocked by party leaders led by the Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Gboyega Oyetola. His new campaign role places him in the position of mobilising support for Tinubu despite his membership of the Accord Party.
Soludo, who secured a second term under APGA in November 2025, has similarly been entrusted with coordinating Tinubu’s campaign in Anambra, further extending the campaign council’s reach beyond APC members.
The revised council also names Senate President Godswill Akpabio, House of Representatives Speaker Tajudeen Abbas and Kwara State Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq as first, second and third deputy vice-chairmen, respectively.
Yobe State Governor Mai Mala Buni has been appointed deputy director-general for the North, with Deputy Senate President Barau Jibrin taking the second position for the region. Senate Leader Opeyemi Bamidele and Deputy House Speaker Benjamin Kalu will serve as first and second deputy director-generals for the South.
The council assigns campaign coordinator roles to all 32 APC governors in their respective states, except Fubara in Rivers. The party’s governorship candidates in Oyo, Bauchi and Abia, Sharafadeen Alli, Mohammed Abubakar and Chijioke Chukwu, have also been named coordinators for their states.
Fourteen advisers are included in the expanded council. They include former APC National Chairman Bisi Akande, former Ogun State Governor Ibikunle Amosun, former Cross River South senator Florence Ita-Giwa, former APC National Secretary Iyiola Omisore, Secretary to the Government of the Federation George Akume and former coordinating Minister of the Economy Wale Edun.
The APC first announced its presidential campaign council on August 22, naming former Zamfara State Governor Abdulaziz Yari as director-general. The revised list introduces changes to the council’s leadership and broadens the group of political figures tasked with supporting Tinubu’s re-election campaign.
The campaign preparations come ahead of the 2027 presidential and National Assembly elections. Under the revised timetable of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the campaign period for the two elections ends on January 14, 2027. Tinubu is expected to face opposition contenders, including former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar of the African Democratic Congress and Peter Obi of the Nigeria Democratic Congress.
