Following the official commencement of campaigns for the 2027 general elections, the presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress, Atiku Abubakar, has intensified consultations ahead of the constitution of his campaign council.

The move comes as the All Progressives Congress unveiled key members of its presidential campaign council, with President Bola Tinubu on Saturday announcing former Zamfara State Governor Abdulaziz Yari as Director-General and Imo State Governor Hope Uzodinma as Secretary.

However, the Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication to Atiku Abubakar, Phrank Shaibu, urged Nigerians to be patient, saying details of the former vice-president’s campaign council and official campaign launch would be announced at the appropriate time.

Speaking in an interview with The PUNCH on Sunday, Shaibu said consultations were ongoing and that the campaign team would make an official announcement once the process was concluded.

He said, “The composition of His Excellency Atiku Abubakar’s Presidential Campaign Council, its leadership and the formal take-off of the campaign will be announced at the appropriate time.

“Consultations are ongoing, and we would rather allow the process to run its course than speculate about names or locations ahead of an official decision.”

On campaign funding, Shaibu also urged Nigerians to await the candidate’s formal position, saying Atiku would unveil his fundraising model when the time was right.

“We are aware of the different approaches being adopted by other candidates. His Excellency’s campaign will unveil its own fundraising framework in accordance with the law and at the appropriate time.

“Whatever model is adopted will be transparent, accountable and consistent with applicable campaign-finance regulations,” he added.

Shaibu said Atiku’s immediate focus was on engaging Nigerians on issues affecting their lives and presenting his policy alternatives.

He said these would include Atiku’s “unmistakable and unrepentant commitment” to the return of a targeted fuel subsidy, which he said would differ from the previous import-subsidy regime.

He explained that the proposed intervention would be transparent and production-linked, with the aim of supporting domestic refining, reducing the burden on Nigerians and ensuring that subsidy “follows the barrel.”

NDC consulting

Meanwhile, the National Democratic Congress, whose presidential candidate is Peter Obi, is also consulting on the composition and timetable of its campaign council.

The NDC National Publicity Secretary, Osa Director, told The PUNCH that the group would meet next weekend before deciding on the date and other details of its campaign.

“We are meeting next weekend before we can decide on a date. But everything will be done at the same time.

“Of course, you can be certain that people like Prof Pat Utomi, Buba Galadima and Bishop Idahosa will be among the names,” he said.

On the proposed campaign route, Director said the group planned to take its message to all 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory.

“I really don’t know the states we are going to kick off from. But we are going to be in the 36 states of the federation, including Abuja.

“We want to visit every state; if possible, we might even visit some states twice.

“Once we finish our meeting, we will take a decision on everything before we put them in the public domain,” he added.

Kwankwaso knocks APC

In a related development, the vice-presidential candidate of the NDC, Rabiu Kwankwaso, has criticised the ruling All Progressives Congress over the composition of its presidential campaign council.

In a post on his verified X handle, @KwanKwasoRM, on Sunday, the former Kano State governor said the council provided Nigerians with an opportunity to assess the kind of leadership being offered ahead of the 2027 general election.

He wrote, “I have taken note of the recently constituted APC Presidential Campaign Council, whose composition offers Nigerians a clear picture of the choice before us in the 2027 general election.

“The council brings together many of the same political actors who have supported, defended or participated in the present administration. Their coming together raises a fundamental question: What exactly are they asking Nigerians to vote for in 2027—a new beginning or the continuation of the same system that has brought severe hardship to our people?”

Kwankwaso described the 2027 election as a contest between “the oppressed Nigerian masses” and those who had benefited from, defended or sustained what he described as a system responsible for their hardship.

He said the situation should concern Nigerians across the country, particularly families struggling with rising food and living costs.

“Young Nigerians face unemployment and diminishing opportunities. Farmers and businesses are struggling to survive, while millions continue to live with insecurity. Our education, healthcare and other essential public services remain under enormous pressure,” he added.

Kwankwaso said the APC campaign structure represented another contest between “the oppressors and the oppressed,” urging Nigerians to use the 2027 election to demand accountable and people-centred governance.

He added, “If Osun people can do it, so can all other parts of the country.”

The former governor also appealed to the Director-General of the APC Presidential Campaign Council, Senator Abdul’aziz Yari, to reconsider his decision to lead the campaign.

“I particularly appeal to my brother, Senator Abdul’aziz Yari, who has accepted to serve as Director-General of the APC Presidential Campaign Council, to reflect deeply and reconsider accepting this responsibility,” he said.

Kwankwaso argued that, as a former governor of Zamfara State and a prominent leader from the North-West, Yari understood the effects of insecurity, poverty, unemployment, displacement and destruction of livelihoods in the region.

“I therefore will be surprised if, in his good conscience, he 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,” he added.

Questions over officials

Kwankwaso also questioned the inclusion of senior government officials, including 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.

“There is also a serious institutional question concerning 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,” he said.

He argued that the leadership of critical public institutions required neutrality, integrity and public confidence.

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.

“The government and the APC should explain how such arrangements are consistent with institutional neutrality and public trust,” he added.

Kwankwaso, however, concluded that “no campaign council is more powerful than the Nigerian people.”

No LP date

Meanwhile, the Labour Party is yet to announce its campaign timetable.

The LP presidential candidate, Dr Chibuzor Okereke, said the party’s strategy team would determine the date and venue for the campaign launch.

“You will be informed when we unveil it. Be rest assured that we are going to roll out everything once a decision has been taken.

“However, whether LP will start from one of the states or the FCT is left to the strategy team to decide. I can’t also speak on the commencement date or otherwise because it is still in the works,” Okereke said.

YPP gets date

Meanwhile, the presidential candidate of the Young Progressives Party, Prof Peter Agada, has announced September 9 as the date for the formal commencement of his campaign for the 2027 presidential election.

Agada, who spoke against the backdrop of the commencement of the 2027 electioneering season, said the campaign would begin in Lagos before moving to other parts of the country.

He also disclosed that his campaign structure was already in place, noting that some former supporters of the Labour Party presidential candidate in the 2023 election, Peter Obi, had joined his political movement.

The YPP candidate said the movement, which he described as “The Movement Nigeria”, had been operating for about four months and would form part of the structure for his presidential campaign.

He said, “The good thing is that we have been preparing gradually. We didn’t wait until the INEC campaign ceremony to start doing that.

“I am sure you know that I drive a movement. After resigning from the Obidient Movement, I know that a lot of Obidients did not go with him (Peter Obi). So, most of them came with me. That was how we set up a structure called The Movement Nigeria, which is approximately four months old. So, I can tell you that the structure to drive this election is already in place.”

On the commencement of the campaign, Agada said, “We are going to kick-start, by the special grace of God, September 9. As we speak, planning is ongoing until September 9, as I earlier said. We are having a lot of meetings too.”

He added that the campaign leadership had already been identified, with the appointments expected to be ratified before a formal announcement.

“We have already defined the team in terms of appointing the DG, Secretary, Communications Director and Media Director. All those offices are already in place with people managing them. But all these are going to be ratified on Wednesday. Once through, we are going to call for a press conference not long from that Wednesday to announce what is happening,” he said.

Agada named the Deputy National Chairman of the YPP, Ambassador Nana Aisha Mahmoud, as the proposed Director-General of his campaign council, subject to final clearance.

“I have not gotten full clearance yet. But I have the person of Ambassador Nana Aisha Mahmoud. She is currently the Deputy National Chairman of the YPP. She is coming in as the Director-General of the Campaign Council. And, of course, we have an able secretary in the person of Prof Osaze and the Director of Media, Evelyn Ohiole, who is a young and vibrant TV personality,” he said.

The candidate said the campaign would adopt a nationwide strategy, beginning with key states and expanding to the geopolitical zones.

He added, “We have a focused state in concentric circles. We are moving from the known to the unknown. States like Lagos, Kano, Kaduna and Abuja are our first points of call. Then, of course, we can now move on to the wings, like the North-East. In fact, there is a meeting in the North-East this Saturday and Sunday. It will be a very big meeting comprising all the North-Eastern states.

“Afterwards, of course, we will repeat the same thing in the North-West, South-East and then South-West. It is all planned out. Of course, our greatest attribute right now in the world is technology. It is also moving deeper and deeper into artificial intelligence and all of that.”

Agada said technology would be central to his campaign, adding that the party intended to showcase its proposed governance model through information and communications technology.

“Our party is driven by GPS. It is a GPS governance system. We intend to demonstrate that capability utilising ICT to showcase how government can be run with GPS. So, we are going to deploy it in this campaign to the eyes of everyone,” he said.

He further said the campaign structure already had coordinators across the states, local government areas and wards.

“Aside from that, we have the leadership of The Movement Nigeria that is on standby, ready to run, just as we have state-by-state, zonal, local government and ward coordinators, all in place. As I told you, we have been working on them in the last four to six months,” Agada said.

The development comes as other major political parties and opposition groupings prepare their campaign structures ahead of the 2027 elections.

However, the APC National Secretary, Senator Ajibola Basiru, said the party was yet to settle on the date and venue for the commencement of its campaign.

“I am sure you are aware that we have released the list of the APC Presidential Campaign Council with Senator Yari as the DG and Governor Hope Uzodimma the secretary.

“However, a date and state for the kick-off can’t be announced until the campaign council meets to discuss it,” Basiru said.

The APC campaign council was announced by the Presidency after President Bola Tinubu constituted the 223-member body.

Tinubu and Vice President Kashim Shettima were named chairman and vice-chairman I respectively, while APC National Chairman, Nentawe Yilwatda, was appointed vice-chairman II.

The council also includes Senate President Godswill Akpabio, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas, and Yobe State Governor, Mai Mala Buni, among other senior party leaders.

The Independent National Electoral Commission had earlier opened the window for campaigns for the 2027 general elections, paving the way for political parties and candidates to commence public campaigns in line with the electoral timetable.

With the election season gathering momentum, competing parties and political alliances are expected to intensify mobilisation, unveil campaign structures and begin nationwide engagements ahead of the presidential poll. (The PUNCH)

Update news