President Bola Tinubu has told members of the All Progressives Congress Presidential Campaign Council that he will not attend every campaign rally ahead of the 2027 election, saying the demands of governing the country must come first.
Speaking at the council’s inauguration in Abuja, Tinubu urged party leaders to take his administration’s message to communities across the country while he continues to manage state affairs and meet Nigeria’s economic obligations.
“Nigeria needs more attention now than ever before. The responsibility of this office does not pause,” he said, adding that he would still make time to address Nigerians directly.
The President said the campaign was not simply a political exercise, but a chance for the APC to renew its commitment to the public and explain its record and plans. He urged the council to mobilise voters in every state, local government area and ward.
Tinubu also cautioned party members against assuming victory was assured. Their work in previous elections, he said, would count for little unless they delivered again in 2027.
He praised members for completing the party’s congresses without the internal breakdown some had predicted, and called on them to keep working to address poverty, illiteracy and underdevelopment.
The inauguration comes as the ruling party steps up preparations for the January 16, 2027 presidential and National Assembly elections. Senior party figures and political allies used the event to endorse Tinubu’s bid, promote the administration’s reforms and criticise opposition candidates.
Shettima challenges Obi and Atiku
Vice President Kashim Shettima criticised the economic proposals of African Democratic Congress presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi, who contested the 2023 election for the Labour Party.
Shettima questioned Obi’s comparisons between Nigeria and other countries, including Bangladesh, arguing that policies cannot be transferred from one country to another without accounting for differences in population, institutions and economic conditions.
“What succeeds in Bangladesh cannot simply be transplanted to Nigeria,” he said, adding that a country of more than 250 million people could not be governed through borrowed statistics and prescriptions detached from local realities.
Shettima also disputed Obi’s claim that he won the 2023 presidential election, calling it unsupported. Tinubu was declared the winner, with Atiku finishing second and Obi third.
The Vice President also challenged Atiku’s proposal for a production-based petrol subsidy. Atiku has said his plan would be targeted, capped, transparently budgeted and independently audited, and would support domestic refining and production rather than revive the former import-dependent system.
Shettima questioned how the proposal would be funded and what other priorities might lose out. He accused Atiku of shifting his political position for electoral advantage, saying a change in ideology could not resolve the practical questions of a national budget.
“The higher the office a person seeks, the greater the discipline expected in his words, conduct and relationship with public institutions,” Shettima said.
Wike warns governors to deliver their states
Federal Capital Territory Minister Nyesom Wike urged APC governors and campaign leaders to focus on winning votes rather than relying on their titles or positions within the campaign council.
“If you don’t deliver your state and the President wins, don’t say we have won,” he said. “What is important is for the President to win.”
Wike, who has been named campaign coordinator for Rivers State and the FCT, pledged to mobilise support in both territories. He said even senior government officials should be judged by whether they can deliver votes in their home states.
A member of the Peoples Democratic Party, Wike defended his support for Tinubu, arguing that opposition politics should not require rejecting policies simply because they come from a rival party. He praised the President for taking on issues that previous administrations had avoided, including the proposed creation of state police.
Wike said he believed the constitutional process for establishing state police could be completed in the coming months and argued that it could help reduce insecurity. He also challenged FCT residents to point to areas where they had not felt the impact of the federal government.
Soludo pledges APGA support
Anambra State Governor Chukwuma Soludo said the All Progressives Grand Alliance would support Tinubu’s re-election, citing national unity, security and shared prosperity.
Soludo described the political support for Tinubu as unusually broad and pointed to the attendance of about 33 governors at the event. He said the President’s economic reforms, though difficult, should be sustained and followed by efforts to ensure prosperity is more widely shared.
He also urged the APC and other progressive political groups to recognise APGA as a partner in the coalition backing Tinubu.
“We are with you. We are a partner in this journey back to the Aso Rock,” Soludo said.
Uzodimma calls for unity and continued reforms
Speaking for the Progressive Governors Forum, Imo State Governor Hope Uzodimma urged APC leaders to close ranks, sustain the administration’s reforms and mobilise voters at the grassroots.
Uzodimma said the party controls 31 of Nigeria’s 36 states and has elected chairmen in about 685 of the country’s 774 local government areas. He credited Tinubu’s policies, including the removal of petrol subsidies, foreign exchange reforms and tax changes, with helping to reshape the economy.
He acknowledged the hardship associated with the measures but said the administration was beginning to see results. He also cited the Nigerian Education Loan Fund, consumer credit scheme, conditional cash transfers and Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway as examples of government programmes.
According to Uzodimma, more than 1.5 million students have benefited from the education loan scheme, with over N350 billion disbursed for tuition and living costs. He also pointed to the Renewed Hope Ward Development Programme, which is intended to reach all 8,809 wards.
Uzodimma said the next election would determine whether the country continued with the current reform programme or abandoned its foundations. He urged Tinubu to remain focused on governing while party leaders handled the campaign.
He cautioned, however, that the APC’s numbers did not guarantee victory. Members, he said, must resolve disputes arising from party primaries, engage voters and campaign peacefully in line with electoral laws.
Akpabio and Yilwatda set out the party’s case
Senate President Godswill Akpabio said the National Assembly was firmly behind Tinubu’s re-election bid. He argued that Nigerians were beginning to recognise the administration’s reforms and said the legislature would not allow efforts to destabilise the President.
APC National Chairman Nentawe Yilwatda urged the campaign council to present the administration’s record while acknowledging the challenges that remain.
The campaign, he said, should offer “a clear record, an honest assessment of the challenges and a credible vision for the future.” He called on members to explain the government’s policies with evidence and set out what still needs to be done.
The APC is expected to rely on governors, lawmakers, local government chairmen and party officials to organise its campaign across the country, while Tinubu continues to oversee the government’s agenda. The inauguration marks an early push toward the 2027 election, with the ruling party emphasising continuity and unity as opposition figures challenge its economic record.
