The All Progressives Congress on Wednesday inaugurated its Presidential Campaign Council for the 2027 general election, rallying party leaders and politicians from other political parties behind President Bola Tinubu’s re-election bid while expressing confidence in his administration’s reforms.

The inauguration, held at the State House Conference Centre in Abuja under the theme, “Renewed Hope, Cooperative Federalism and Shared Prosperity,” attracted prominent political figures, including Osun State Governor Ademola Adeleke of the Accord Party, Minister of the Federal Capital Territory Nyesom Wike of the Peoples Democratic Party, and Anambra State Governor Chukwuma Soludo of the All Progressives Grand Alliance.

Vice President Kashim Shettima, Senate President Godswill Akpabio, Speaker of the House of Representatives Tajudeen Abbas, APC National Chairman Nentawe Yilwatda and Chairman of the Progressive Governors’ Forum Hope Uzodimma were also present.

Tinubu, who declared the council inaugurated, urged its members to remain focused on delivering electoral victories while assuring Nigerians that campaign activities would not distract him from governance.

The President said he had agreed with the council’s position that he should not join the campaign team on nationwide tours, given the demands of his office.

“You have warned me and asked me not to allow the rigour of the campaign to distract me from governance. I hear you. I am in full agreement with your decision. Nigeria needs more attention now than ever before. The responsibility of this office does not pause.

“The job must go on. However, I will still make time to speak directly with Nigerians, even as you lead the campaign in the states and local government areas, so you will excuse me from going everywhere with you. We have bills to pay. The creditors cannot wait,” he said.

Tinubu also assured Nigerians that state police would become a reality and expressed optimism that a bill seeking reserved seats for women would be realised, increasing female representation in the National Assembly and at the sub-national level.

He warned party members against complacency, insisting that their previous electoral successes would count for little without victory in 2027.

“I thank all of you for the last election, but no one gets credit for an incomplete assignment. Until you deliver the next election, until you deliver your wards, until you deliver the votes, before we can say thank you, thank you, and I will thank you very much,” he said.

Recalling predictions that the APC would disintegrate during its congresses, Tinubu said the party had instead emerged “strong, united and renewed.”

Describing himself as the party’s “errand man,” he pledged to honour his commitments and abide by the party’s manifesto.

Shettima Attacks Atiku, Obi Over Economic Proposals

In his remarks, Shettima criticised former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, the presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress, over his proposed approach to petrol subsidies, questioning the consistency of his economic ideology.

Shettima described the political season as “a masterclass in cinematic comedy,” arguing that Atiku’s proposed production subsidies raised questions about funding, beneficiaries and competing national priorities.

“His proposal for production subsidies raises questions that ideological costume changes cannot answer: Who pays? Who benefits? And which competing priorities must surrender their funding? A change of ideological wardrobe cannot balance a national budget,” the Vice President said.

He also questioned Atiku’s presidential ambitions, saying, “Atiku Abubakar, who has contested for the presidency of this country for the eighth time, is not Abraham Lincoln. He is more of Odinga Odinga.”

Shettima also criticised former Anambra State governor Peter Obi, describing him as “the master of bogus statistics and incoherent economic prescriptions” over his comparisons between Nigeria and Bangladesh.

“His fascination with foreign comparisons often blurs the peculiarities that distinguish one nation from another. Governance is an art that demands mastery of context, whether social, economic, political, or institutional,” he said.

The Vice President argued that policies successful in Bangladesh could not be transferred directly to Nigeria without considering differences in population, economic structures, institutions and national circumstances.

He also accused Obi of making unsupported claims about winning the 2023 presidential election.

Soludo, Adeleke, Wike Back Tinubu

Soludo, who spoke on behalf of APGA, said the party, established in 2002, should be recognised as part of the progressive political movement.

The Anambra governor described the gathering as an unprecedented display of political and elite consensus behind a presidential candidate, pointing to the presence of about 33 governors out of the 36 states.

“There is no time in Nigeria’s history, to the best of my knowledge, that there is a greater consensus, political and elite consensus. Of course, consensus doesn’t mean everybody agrees 100 per cent. I’m talking about 80, 90 per cent consensus in the political arena,” he said.

Soludo declared his support for Tinubu’s re-election, adding, “There is nowhere for changing a winning team. If it’s not broken, why mend it? Count on us in APGA 24/7. We are with you because we believe.”

Wike, who said he learnt of his appointment as campaign director for Rivers State and the Federal Capital Territory through a newspaper, pledged to deliver both areas for Tinubu.

The FCT minister insisted that he remained a member and leader of the PDP, saying he was speaking on behalf of the party.

“Simple, not too much work for me. It’s Rivers and FCT, and let me say and pledge, by the grace of God, Rivers and FCT will vote massively for Bola Ahmed Tinubu,” he said.

Wike, however, warned campaign coordinators that a Tinubu victory would not excuse anyone who failed to deliver their assigned states. He also expressed optimism that the proposed state police system would be passed into law within the next few months.

Adeleke, who won the Osun governorship election on the Accord platform, urged Nigerians to give Tinubu more time for his reforms to produce results.

“We must give our father, the President of this nation, time for his reform to work. It’s not easy. Four years is not enough. Nobody can stop this movement. We’re going to sing, we’re going to dance all the way back to Aso Rock,” he said.

Akpabio, Abbas Urge Unity

Senate President Akpabio described the gathering as a coalition of political parties aligned with Tinubu’s re-election bid, claiming that the level of unity displayed was unprecedented.

“Demonstrated here tonight is something that has not happened since 1960. All political parties have come together, except those who are losing,” he said.

Akpabio added that parties absent from the gathering were on the losing side, declaring that the progressives had united behind the President.

Speaker Abbas said the 2027 election would present Nigerians with a choice between continuity and what he described as confusion.

According to him, the country had passed through the most difficult phase of economic correction and should not abandon the process just as stability was beginning to return.

“This election presents a clear choice between consolidation and confusion, between steady progress and dangerous retreat, between completing a difficult national repair and abandoning it halfway. Nigeria has passed through the hardest phase of correction. We must not abandon the work just as stability begins to return,” Abbas said.

He urged campaigners to respond to opposition criticism with evidence rather than insults.

“When opponents raise their voices, we must raise the quality of our arguments. When they insult, we must inform. When they divide, we must unite,” he said.

Yilwatda, in his welcome address, urged the council to communicate the administration’s achievements in infrastructure, including roads, power and gas projects, railways, ports, agricultural infrastructure and digital connectivity.

He said the projects were critical to productivity, commerce, employment and national development, adding that campaigners must explain how the investments and reforms could improve the daily lives of Nigerians.

The APC chairman also urged the council to acknowledge the administration’s challenges while engaging voters on the cost of living, insecurity, employment, education, healthcare, agricultural productivity and economic opportunities.

“Confidence is not complacency. It is the determination to prepare thoroughly, work together and earn the trust of the people,” he said.

Yari, Masari Promise Electoral Victory

The Special Adviser to the President on Political and Other Matters, Ibrahim Masari, who spoke on behalf of the council, pledged that the campaign organisation would deliver a decisive victory for Tinubu.

“The votes that will be secured by all the opposition parties put together will not reach half of what this council will deliver for you. That, we promise, and by the grace of Allah we will deliver,” he said.

Masari added that the performance of council members would be assessed based on results at the grassroots rather than the volume of their speeches and promises.

The council’s Director-General, Abdulaziz Yari, accepted the appointment on behalf of its members and said the campaign would be built around Tinubu’s record and achievements.

“We are going to do it all honestly with trust, and by God’s grace, we are going to deliver. You will be the next president of this country again for the second time,” Yari said.

He urged members to set aside personal ambitions and work towards the common goal of securing Tinubu’s re-election.

Atiku, Makinde Campaign Organisation Criticise Council

Reacting to the inauguration, Atiku, through his campaign spokesman, Phrank Shaibu, described the enlarged campaign council as evidence of Tinubu’s fear of defeat.

In a statement issued on Wednesday, Shaibu said the gathering of governors, ministers and politicians would not erase the hardship Nigerians were experiencing.

“Only a man afraid of his record would think he could bury it under hundreds of names. Tinubu can gather every governor, minister and political defector in Nigeria. None of them can erase the hunger in people’s homes,” he said.

Shaibu also criticised the use of the Presidential Villa for the APC political event, describing it as a breach of public trust.

“The Presidential Villa belongs to the Nigerian people. It is not a campaign venue or the private property of any political party. Using it for an APC political event is a gross breach of public trust,” he said.

Atiku’s camp also cited the 2026 Global Multidimensional Poverty Index, which it said recorded an additional 17.9 million Nigerians living in multidimensional poverty. Shaibu added that the size of a campaign council would not determine the outcome of the election.

Meanwhile, the Presidential Campaign Organisation of Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde, operating under the Allied Peoples Movement, described the APC council as a “coalition of failed politicians” that would not prevent Tinubu’s defeat in 2027.

In a statement issued on Wednesday by its Director of Strategic Communications, Richard Ihediwa, the organisation described the council as a “Nebuchadnezzar Coalition” heading for political humiliation.

It cited worsening insecurity, economic hardship and declining public confidence in the Tinubu administration as factors it believed would undermine the President’s re-election bid.

“This Nebuchadnezzar Coalition is headed for the rocks as it cannot whitewash the failures of the Tinubu administration, nor rewrite the painful realities confronting citizens. It cannot manufacture public acceptance through a parade of ‘political predators’ and power-drunk elites who are mistaking political dominance for public acceptance,” the statement said.

The organisation questioned how the campaign council would explain the hardship facing millions of Nigerian families, youth unemployment and a Federal Government disclosure that 70 per cent of Nigerian children under the age of 10 could not read and understand a simple sentence.

It argued that the figures reflected deepening socio-economic challenges and declining human capital, adding that political alliances could not substitute for accountability and measurable results.

Tinubu emerged as the APC’s presidential candidate on May 24, winning the party’s ticket by 10.9 million votes in its first direct primary across 8,809 wards.

On July 10, he retained Shettima as his running mate. The campaign council was constituted on August 22, with Tinubu as chairman, Shettima as vice chairman, Yari as Director-General and Uzodimma as secretary.

A revised list released on Tuesday added Wike, Soludo and Adeleke to the campaign structure.