The Inauguration Of Tinubu’s Presidential Campaign Council And Other Matters -By Hajia Hadiza Mohammed

Shortly before he traveled out of the country for his vacation the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential candidate, Bola Ahmed Tinubu constituted the party’s 2027 Presidential Campaign Council (PCC) on August 23, 2026. And the updated list which had about 233 members was announced on October 13, 2026, by Felix Morka, the APC National Publicity Secretary and was formally inaugurated at the Presidential Villa, Abuja on October 14, 2026 by Tinubu.

And like everything coming from the APC that is known to always put the wrong foot forward, the APC Presidential Campaign Council list has generated a lot of controversies and worries not just from the opposition but from other concerned citizens. The main criticisms of the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential campaign council for the 2027 election center on ethics, governance, and strategy. The first criticism is about the venue of the inauguration seen by many as an abuse of office and misuse of state facilities. As rightly observed by the opposition, holding the inauguration of the APC Presidential Campaign Council inside the banquet hall of the Presidential Villa is an abuse of office. It is a partisan misuse of state infrastructure as the African Democratic Congress (ADC) spokesperson puts it. It shows clearly that the APC as party has not been able to distinguish between the party affairs and government business.

Another area of criticism is about the inclusion of public officials in the campaign council which will create conflicts of Interest. Many concerned Nigerians have raised concerns about propriety of the inclusion of sitting heads of critical state institutions in the party campaign roster. For instance, institutions like the National Revenue Service (NRS) headed by Zacch Adedeji, responsible for assessing, collecting, accounting for, and enforcing federal taxes and the DG of the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) that enroll, manage and access the National Identification Number (NIN) of citizens ought to be secluded from partisan assignment. And so should officials that are responsible for national security, especially at a period like this.

The head of critical government agencies are supposed to be neutral and non-partisan. Including them in the party’s campaign council constitutes a breach of public trust. Nigerians have always accused Tinubu of using state institutions as his personal enterprise. Electioneering campaign is a personal business and so Tinubu has no right to commandeer the head of sensitive agencies into his campaign team. He may as well coopt the Inspector General of Police or Chief of Army Staff or even the INEC chairman himself into his campaign train. It is ethically not appropriate for any head of critical state institution to be in a party’s election campaign council. It will create ethical dilemma and conflict of interest.

Thus, I am of the opinion that the Forum of Chief Executives of Federal Parastatals (FORCEPA) formed “to offer technical, strategic, and grassroots mobilization support to the campaign from a complementary standpoint”, is an administrative  aberration. The loyalty of heads of agency should be to the state and the people and not the party.

Furthermore, Tinubu’s declaration that he would not be campaigning in all the states with the members of the campaign team has attracted criticisms. Some see it as arrogant lack of respect for the electorate. Anyone seeking to serve the people should engage the people and defend his intended programs and policies. Avoiding direct voters’ engagement is an indication that he has nothing to market. Secondly, it is believed that since he performed poorly in the last three years that he has been in power, creating mass impoverishment, he is afraid of being booed by the disenchanted Nigerian electorates. Thirdly, it is believed in some quarters that Tinubu’s limited national campaign tour would mean that he is sick and weak and may not be able to withstand the rigors of campaign tours. But again, some see this as a deception, something he used to hoodwink some power hungry Northern politicians, who thought while he used similar tricks in 2023 that he being supposed frail and sickly might die in office for them to take over power.

On the surface, Tinubu’s PCC list may appear robust and inclusive but on a closer look, it shows that all is not well with the APC internally with the exclusion of key party executives in the campaign council list. With the marginalization of party executives and officers the party risks creating disaffection and internal wrangling that may work against it in the forthcoming elections. Again, the involvement of governors from the other parties as “strategic state coordinators” for their states does not in any way indicate acceptance or plurality. It is an indication of fear and panic and might be counterproductive. In Anambra, the people and the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) to which Prof. Chukwuma Soludo, the governor, belongs have rejected the arrangement and dissociated themselves from Tinubu and his campaign council.

Hajia Hadiza Mohammed
hajiahadizamohammed@gmail.com
An actress, social activist, politician
London, UK.