President Tinubu inaugurates his 2027 campaign council, says governance will continue as APC leaders call for unity and defend economic reforms
Tinubu Unveils 2027 Campaign Council, Says Governance Won’t Stop as Allies Mobilise
By Lukman OMIKUNLE
President Bola Tinubu has said his re-election campaign will not distract him from governance, insisting that Nigeria requires sustained attention as his administration continues economic reforms and efforts to attract investment.
Tinubu spoke at the inauguration of his Presidential Campaign Council at the Banquet Hall of the Presidential Villa, Abuja, where he charged party leaders and supporters to take his administration’s policies, achievements and development plans to Nigerians ahead of the January 16, 2027, presidential election.
The inauguration brought together governors, ministers, lawmakers, party officials and political allies from different parties, with the ruling All Progressives Congress seeking to consolidate its support base ahead of the election.
Tinubu said he had accepted the advice of party leaders that the demands of campaigning should not interfere with his responsibilities as President. He assured members of the council that he would participate in the campaign while leaving much of the grassroots mobilisation and state-by-state coordination to them.
“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,” he said.
“We have bills to pay,” the President added, stressing the need to attract investors and create an environment where businesses could establish lasting interests for the benefit of future generations.
Tinubu, however, said he would still engage Nigerians directly during the campaign.
“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,” he said.
The President also renewed his commitment to state police, declaring, “On security, state police will be a reality.”
Describing himself as a servant of the APC, Tinubu said he remained committed to the party’s manifesto and its promises to Nigerians.
“To me, I am your errand man,” he said.
He described the inauguration as a renewed commitment between the governing party and the electorate, urging campaign council members to approach the election with discipline and a clear message about his administration’s record.
“We have not gathered merely to inaugurate a council; we have gathered to renew a covenant, a covenant with the Nigerian people, and the historic responsibility they have entrusted to us as Nigeria’s governing party,” Tinubu said.
He also dismissed predictions that the APC would split following its ward, local government and state congresses, commending the party leadership under National Chairman Prof. Nentawe Yilwatda and the Chairman of the Progressive Governors Forum, Hope Uzodimma, for managing the internal processes.
“They said there would be implosion. We passed through it. We did not fail. You didn’t let us down,” the President told party leaders.
Tinubu warned that previous electoral victories did not guarantee another mandate, insisting that the campaign council’s work would remain incomplete until the party secured victory in 2027.
He also pledged support for proposed legislation seeking additional reserved seats for women in the National Assembly and state legislatures, urging female party members to mobilise behind efforts to increase women’s political representation.
The President cited the Eko Atlantic project in Lagos as an example of what determination, planning and bold leadership could achieve, recalling efforts to address the threat posed by the Atlantic Ocean to parts of the state during his tenure as governor.
“You must dare. You must be determined,” he told the campaign council.
Vice-President Kashim Shettima used the occasion to defend the administration’s economic reforms, challenging opposition figures to offer practical alternatives rather than criticise government policies without presenting workable solutions.
Shettima faulted the economic positions of former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar and former Anambra State governor Peter Obi, arguing that policies adopted elsewhere could not be transferred to Nigeria without considering differences in population, institutions and economic structures.
He questioned comparisons between Nigeria and Bangladesh, which he said failed to account adequately for the countries’ different circumstances. He also challenged Atiku’s proposal for production subsidies, asking how such measures would be financed and which other government priorities might have to bear the cost.
Defending the administration’s performance, Shettima cited economic growth of 4.2 per cent in the first half of 2026 as evidence of improving economic activity. He acknowledged, however, that the gains must translate into employment, higher incomes and better public services.
The Vice-President urged campaign officials to defend the government’s record with facts, effective organisation and measurable achievements rather than political insults.
Senate President Godswill Akpabio also urged Tinubu to maintain strong relationships with political allies, saying cooperation among supporters would be important to the campaign.
Akpabio said political leaders and members of the National Assembly had rallied behind the President’s development agenda. He also proposed that members of the minority caucus in the National Assembly be considered for participation in the campaign initiative, subject to Tinubu’s approval.
Speaker of the House of Representatives Abbas Tajudeen cautioned against abandoning the administration’s economic reforms before their anticipated benefits could be fully realised.
Acknowledging the hardship associated with petrol subsidy removal and other economic adjustments, Abbas argued that continuity was necessary to consolidate any gains from the policies.
“The first term confronted instability. The first term expanded public revenue. The second term must turn revenue into public value.
“Nigeria has paid the price of reform. Nigeria must now receive the dividend of consolidation,” he said.
Abbas cited figures he attributed to recent World Bank assessments, including 4.2 per cent economic growth in the first half of 2026 and external reserves exceeding $54bn in September.
He also said federal revenue increased by 69 per cent in real terms between 2023 and 2025, while state revenues rose by 93 per cent over the same period.
The Speaker highlighted legislative measures passed by the 10th House of Representatives, including student loans, the new national minimum wage, tax reforms and the Electoral Act 2026, as part of the policy record the administration and its supporters would present to voters.
Anambra State Governor Chukwuma Soludo, speaking on behalf of the All Progressives Grand Alliance, described the political alignment behind Tinubu’s re-election bid as unprecedented.
Soludo, a former governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, said the support reflected agreement among political and economic leaders on the need for reforms, national unity, security and shared prosperity.
“There has been no time in our history when you have such a constellation, a consensus that one man deserves to be re-elected in this country. It has never happened before,” he said.
Soludo said APGA would remain a partner in Tinubu’s campaign and governance, despite belonging to a different political party.
“We are a partner in both this journey back to Aso Rock and will remain your partner in the governance process,” he added.
Osun State Governor Ademola Adeleke, who belongs to the Accord Party, also endorsed another term for Tinubu, arguing that four years would not be sufficient to complete the President’s reform agenda.
“We must give our father, the President of this nation, time for his reform to work. It is not easy. Four years is not enough,” Adeleke said.
He expressed confidence in Tinubu’s prospects in the 2027 election and said he had begun grassroots mobilisation in Osun State.
“I can feel the victory coming in 2027,” Adeleke said, urging Nigerians to support the President and pray for the country’s leaders. He also enlivened the event with songs and dancing.
Former Zamfara State Governor and campaign council Director-General, Senator Abdulaziz Yari, said the campaign would focus on Tinubu’s achievements and plans for the future.
“Our campaign is going to be centred on what you have done and what you are going to do in the future,” Yari told the President.
He cited infrastructure development, interventions targeting ordinary Nigerians and women’s inclusion in government among the issues the campaign would highlight. He also referred to the appointment of eight female ministers and women heading federal agencies as evidence of the administration’s commitment to gender inclusion.
Yari urged members of the council to avoid personal rivalries and concentrate on the campaign’s collective objective.
“It’s no time for ego. We are all one in this business. We have only one agenda. What is that agenda? To ensure that Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu returns as President,” he said.
Uzodimma, who chairs the Progressive Governors Forum and serves as secretary of the Presidential Campaign Council, also called for reconciliation among APC stakeholders ahead of the election.
He urged governors, legislators, party executives, candidates and support groups to set aside grievances arising from the party’s primaries and work together behind Tinubu’s re-election bid.
His appeal came amid reported disagreements involving APC governors and the political coalition associated with Minister of the Federal Capital Territory Nyesom Wike, a member of the Peoples Democratic Party.
Uzodimma said internal disputes must not undermine the party’s preparations, arguing that political structures would be ineffective without unity, discipline and coordinated grassroots mobilisation.
“It follows that our party has no excuse not to win. Victory is guaranteed when we are united, committed and work as a focused team. So, we must jettison any misgivings we have against each other.
“We must reconcile any differences we may have and rally as one family behind the party and all our candidates. We must speak to Nigerians as one family with one voice and one message,” he said.
He also urged candidates dissatisfied with the outcome of the primaries to put their grievances aside, stressing that no candidate should seek personal advantage at the expense of another party member.
“The primaries are behind us. Whatever disagreements they may have left, the success of any one of us cannot be built on the failure of another, and every candidate who carries our flag deserves the full support of the whole party. Our unity should be unassailable,” Uzodimma added.
The Imo governor urged Tinubu to remain focused on governance, saying the President’s attention was needed to ensure the reforms delivered their intended benefits.
“An election season has a way of consuming everything around it, and there will be no shortage of people who would like to see you spend the next three months responding to every distraction on the campaign trail.
“We would ask that you do not allow it to distract you from governance. The reforms you began need your full attention if they are to deliver everything they promise, and Nigerians will be better served by a President who keeps his hand firmly on the work of government than by one who is pulled away from it by the demands of electioneering,” he said.
Special Adviser to the President on Political and Other Matters, Ibrahim Kabir Masari, urged the campaign council to focus on measurable grassroots mobilisation rather than political meetings and promises.
Masari claimed that the combined votes of opposition parties would fall short of the votes the APC campaign council would secure for Tinubu, pledging that campaign officials would be assessed according to their performance in their states, local government areas, wards and polling units.
“I want to use this opportunity on behalf of the members of this council to assure Mr President that 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.
He called on campaign officials to spend less time in Abuja and party offices and devote more attention to direct engagement with voters.
“It is pertinent for us to understand that politics is not about opening and painting offices, pettiness, unnecessary talk or endless debates. Politics is at the grassroots; it is about our polling units, wards, local governments and communities.
“We must reduce unnecessary visits to Abuja and party offices, as well as excessive directorate meetings, and instead focus on meeting people, convincing them, winning their hearts and securing votes in line with democratic principles.
“Stop talking to yourselves and start talking to the people,” he said.
Masari said the council would introduce performance assessments to hold members accountable for their assigned responsibilities, warning that political officials would no longer be rewarded for inflated claims of electoral influence without verifiable results.
“This time around, we must move beyond making empty promises and announcing figures that cannot be delivered.
“The government will put in place serious assessment mechanisms to assess everyone’s performance based on their actual results at the grassroots, not the volume of their talks or promises.
“Everyone should be rewarded according to their performance, and it can no longer be business as usual where people claim to deliver huge numbers but cannot deliver their own State, Local Government, Ward or even their Polling unit,” he said.
He also called for reconciliation within the party, urging members to avoid personal grievances, hate speech and unnecessary divisions.
“Our strength lies in our unity; our greatest advantage lies in our organisation; and our success will depend on our ability to place the collective interest of our party above personal ambition,” Masari said.
He urged Yari to coordinate the campaign structures nationwide, maintain a consistent message and ensure that members worked towards shared objectives.
Masari said the campaign should be based on the administration’s policies, achievements and future priorities, including education, healthcare, economic reforms and infrastructure.
“We must present our case honestly, confidently and with a clear understanding of what remains to be done.
“The task before us is clear: to turn our convictions into action, our organisation into mobilisation, and our mobilisation into votes. Every ward must count. Every community must be reached. Every eligible voter must have the opportunity to hear our message,” he said.
The APC has scheduled the commencement of its presidential campaign for October 24 in Kaduna. The campaign council is chaired by Tinubu, with Shettima and Yilwatda as vice-chairmen and Uzodimma serving as secretary.
The inauguration marks the beginning of the party’s formal preparations for the 2027 election, with the President seeking to balance his campaign commitments against the demands of governing a country facing economic pressures and persistent security challenges.
