By BONIFACE AKARAH

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Vice President Kashim Shettima will lead the All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential Campaign Council for the January 2027 election, with former Zamfara State Governor Abdulaziz Yari appointed Director-General and Imo State Governor Hope Uzodimma named Secretary.

The appointments were contained in a statement issued on Saturday by Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy and Coordinating Director for Media and Strategic Communication of the APC Presidential Campaign Council.

APC National Chairman, Prof. Nentawe Yilwatda, will serve as vice chairman, while Senator Ajibola Bashiru and Hadiza Bala-Usman were named deputy and assistant secretaries respectively.

Senate President Godswill Akpabio, Speaker Tajudeen Abbas and Yobe State Governor Mai Mala Buni were appointed deputy director-generals for the campaign in the South and North, while Senator Opeyemi Bamidele and Senator Jibril Barau will work with them in the two zones.

Senator Adams Oshiomhole will serve as deputy director-general in charge of mobilisation, while the President’s Chief of Staff will oversee administration.

James Abiodun Faleke, who played a prominent role in the APC’s 2022/2023 campaign, returns as deputy director-general for election planning, coordination and monitoring.

The campaign’s media and strategic communication directorate will be coordinated by Information and National Orientation Minister Mohammed Idris Malagi, alongside Dele Alake, Bayo Onanuga and Lanre Issa-Onilu.

Dele Alake will lead the five-member team of campaign spokespersons, with Alwan Hassan, Ayobami Oyalowo, Kemi Asekun-Shittu and Adamu Fanda serving alongside him.

The statement said President Tinubu had charged members of the campaign council to work tirelessly to secure victory for the APC in the January 2027 elections.

The President also urged directorate leaders to reach out to party members who were not formally listed but could contribute to the campaign.

Making the case for the administration's performance, Tinubu said, **“We have delivered on our campaign promises and set our country on a path of economic progress. We are definitely out of the dark tunnel and are now at the cusp of reaping the benefits of a prosperous economy that will benefit all Nigerians.”**

He urged the campaign team to take the administration’s achievements to voters across the country as campaigning gathers momentum.

“As we march into the campaign season, we have many achievements to trumpet—let us confidently showcase our record and inspire hope in every corner of our nation,” Tinubu said.

The President also framed the election as a contest between his administration and forces he said sought to reverse the country’s current direction.

“Let us soundly defeat all those forces who plan to take our country backwards,” he said.

The campaign council includes separate directorates for election planning, legal affairs, media and strategic communication, mobilisation and new media.

Muiz Adeyemi Banire will head the legal directorate, while Segun Dada returns as Director of New Media, a position he held during the 2022 campaign.

The APC campaign structure comes as political parties intensify preparations for the 2027 presidential election, with the ruling party expected to take its message on the administration’s record to voters nationwide.