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2027 Elections

2027: Tinubu Moves to Give Wike Defined Campaign Role in Rivers, FCT

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President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is considering a defined role for Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, in his 2027 re-election campaign, with the former Rivers State governor expected to coordinate presidential campaign activities in Rivers State and the FCT, according to a report by THISDAY.

The proposed arrangement would allow Tinubu to utilise Wike’s political network and influence without requiring the minister to formally join the All Progressives Congress (APC), which Wike has repeatedly said he has no intention of doing. 

The development comes against the backdrop of an increasingly public disagreement between Wike and several APC governors over the structure through which support for Tinubu should be mobilised ahead of the 2027 general elections.

Wike to operate outside formal APC hierarchy

According to THISDAY, the emerging arrangement would give Wike responsibility for Tinubu’s presidential campaign in Rivers and the FCT, rather than placing him within the formal hierarchy of the APC Presidential Campaign Council.

Wike remains a member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), despite serving as a minister in the APC-led Federal Government.

He has previously said his support for Tinubu’s re-election does not require APC membership or a formal position in the party’s campaign council.

In August, after Tinubu formally constituted the APC Presidential Campaign Council, Wike said he preferred to focus on delivering Rivers and the FCT rather than seeking the position of Director-General.

“I don’t want to lose my state! I will be in my state. I have two states: FCT and Rivers,” Wike said at the time. 

He also described the Rainbow Coalition as a cross-party platform for politicians supporting Tinubu while remaining members of their respective political parties. 

Proposed structure follows Wike-APC governors dispute

The proposed arrangement comes days after tensions between Wike and the APC Governors’ Forum intensified over the Rainbow Coalition.

Wike has maintained that his priority is securing Tinubu’s re-election, while insisting that the PDP and other parties remain free to field candidates for governorship and legislative elections.

APC governors, however, have said they will not support political arrangements capable of weakening the APC or creating competing campaign structures.

The Progressive Governors Forum, led by Imo State Governor Hope Uzodimma, has specifically opposed arrangements that could produce divided loyalty or competing interests within the party’s electoral machinery. 

Wike subsequently criticised some governors, including Uzodimma and Kwara State Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq.

He has also asserted that he remains influential in the political structures of Rivers and the FCT, describing himself earlier this month as the “General Commander of the Political Infantry.” 

Tinubu reportedly seeking to prevent campaign clashes

THISDAY reported that the proposed arrangement is intended partly to reduce friction among the different political blocs supporting Tinubu.

The emerging campaign structure is not expected to operate under a conventional single chain of command.

Former Zamfara State Governor Abdulaziz Yari, who was appointed Director-General of the APC Presidential Campaign Council in August, is expected to oversee the council’s day-to-day operations. 

However, according to the report, Senate President Godswill Akpabio and Deputy Senate President Jibrin Barau are not expected to report directly to Yari, with senior political figures assigned separate areas of responsibility.

The proposed arrangement reflects an attempt to accommodate different political power centres within the broader Tinubu re-election campaign.

Wike’s Rivers and FCT role would be distinct

The proposed responsibility for Wike would similarly be distinct from Yari’s overall campaign role.

Rather than making Wike part of the APC’s formal leadership hierarchy, the arrangement would reportedly place him in charge of presidential mobilisation in Rivers and the FCT.

The choice of the two territories is significant because Wike has repeatedly claimed political influence in both.

In Rivers, he remains a major political figure after serving as governor from 2015 to 2023, while his position as FCT minister has given him a prominent political and administrative presence in Abuja.

Wike has previously said he intends to deliver both territories for Tinubu. 

The arrangement would therefore attempt to accommodate Wike’s political role without formally transferring control of the APC’s wider state structures to him.

Yari remains campaign Director-General

The proposed Wike arrangement does not alter Yari’s position as Director-General of Tinubu’s presidential campaign council.

Tinubu formally constituted the APC Presidential Campaign Council in August, with himself as chairman, Vice-President Kashim Shettima as vice-chairman, APC National Chairman Nentawe Yilwatda as another vice-chairman and Yari as Director-General.

The council also includes senior APC figures, ministers, lawmakers and political leaders. 

The emerging structure appears designed to distinguish between formal campaign administration and political mobilisation by influential actors who may not occupy conventional campaign positions.

Keyamo tipped for communications role

Meanwhile, Aviation and Aerospace Development Minister Festus Keyamo is reportedly being considered for a prominent communications position within the campaign.

Keyamo has significant experience in presidential campaign communications.

He served as a spokesperson and Director of Public Affairs during Tinubu’s 2023 presidential campaign and held a senior communications role during former President Muhammadu Buhari’s 2019 re-election campaign.

He subsequently served as Minister of State for Labour and Employment under Buhari before becoming Aviation and Aerospace Development Minister under Tinubu.

His reported return to the campaign’s frontline communications operation would therefore draw on experience accumulated across both government and presidential election campaigns.

However, the communications structure is already broader than any single spokesperson. Ima Niboro, a former spokesperson to President Goodluck Jonathan and former Managing Director of the News Agency of Nigeria, was recently appointed one of the spokespersons of Tinubu’s campaign council. 

A delicate balance for Tinubu’s 2027 campaign

The proposed arrangement highlights the unusual political configuration surrounding Tinubu’s re-election bid.

Wike remains a PDP member but is serving in an APC administration and campaigning for the incumbent President. At the same time, he has promoted a cross-party Rainbow Coalition rather than formally joining the APC.

That arrangement has created both opportunities and tensions.

Wike says his support is specifically for Tinubu and does not prevent other parties from contesting governorship and legislative elections. APC governors, on the other hand, have expressed concern about political arrangements that could weaken the party’s candidates. 

Tinubu’s reported attempt to define Wike’s role therefore comes at a politically sensitive point: how to harness the minister’s cross-party network for the presidential contest while limiting potential clashes with the APC’s formal campaign machinery and state-level interests.

For now, the arrangement remains a reported proposal rather than a formally announced change to the campaign structure. The final roles and chain of responsibility will become clearer when the campaign leadership makes further announcements.

2027 Elections

2027: Oyo APC Rejects Tinubu Campaign Backed by APM Support

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The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Oyo State has warned members and promoters of the political group, Boye Nation, against campaigning for candidates of different political parties ahead of the 2027 general elections.

The party insisted that anyone supporting President Bola Tinubu’s re-election bid must also work for all other APC candidates contesting elective positions in the state.

It consequently urged the group to either return to the APC and support its candidates across board or stay away from its campaign activities.

The warning followed the circulation of a video on social media showing campaign-branded vehicles displaying photographs and messages in support of President Tinubu and the governorship candidate of the Allied Peoples Movement (APM) in Oyo State, Bimbo Adekanmbi.

The vehicles reportedly carried the symbol of Boye Nation alongside the logos of the APC and APM, although no accompanying voice messages were heard.

In a statement issued in Ibadan on Thursday, the Oyo APC Publicity Secretary, Olawale Sadare, said the party had received reports indicating that some individuals behind the activities of Boye Nation in the state were allegedly planning to create confusion within the political space.

Sadare, however, said the APC remained open to reconciliation with aggrieved members who had left the party, urging them to reconsider their political decisions.

He said, “We have got the reports from different sources that some individuals, who are behind the Boye Nation activities in Ibadan, are perfecting plans to create confusion in the polity.

“Some of these people celebrate their confusion on social media, but we can only wish them the best of luck. Information has it that some individuals who left our party recently are now trying to campaign for President Bola Tinubu against the presidential candidate of their new party.

“While we sympathise with the man in question, as he and his group must have realised the fatal error in their recent political move, we urge them to return home and play the role expected of them as progressive family members.”

The APC spokesman cautioned that the party’s willingness to reconcile with former members should not be interpreted as weakness.

He also rejected the use of campaign materials bearing the identities of multiple political parties, stressing that support for Tinubu must extend to other APC candidates.

“If you are supporting our presidential candidate, Asiwaju Tinubu, you must be intentional by working for the governorship, senatorial, House of Representatives and House of Assembly candidates of the APC at the same time, as doing otherwise would be unacceptable to us,” the statement added.

PUNCH Online reports that Ajiboye Sangogade, popularly known as Boye Nation, a former personal assistant and loyalist of ex-Minister of Power, Bayo Adelabu, led a group of APC members who defected to the APM in Oyo State in September 2026.

The development highlights the political differences surrounding party loyalty and campaign alignments ahead of the 2027 general elections.

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2027 Elections

2027: Yari Challenges Ekiti to Deliver 800,000 Votes for Tinubu

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Former Zamfara State Governor and Director-General of the All Progressives Congress Presidential Campaign Council, Abdulaziz Yari, has challenged Ekiti residents to deliver at least 800,000 votes for President Bola Tinubu in the 2027 presidential election.

Yari made the appeal on Thursday during the APC campaign rally in Ekiti State, where he urged residents to increase their support for Tinubu, insisting that the President had performed well and deserved a second term.

Speaking at the rally, which was monitored on television by our correspondent, Yari said the Tinubu administration had not neglected Ekiti, citing investments in education, road infrastructure, youth development and women’s empowerment.

“Asiwaju has not forgotten the people of Ekiti. He has done his best by introducing schools and universities, constructing roads, providing educational support to youths and empowering women, among other initiatives,” he said.

Yari urged Ekiti residents not to allow what he described as the achievements of the Tinubu administration to go to waste.

“The labour of this great democrat cannot be allowed to go in vain,” he added.

Tinubu is seeking re-election in the January 16, 2027, presidential election, as scheduled by the Independent National Electoral Commission.

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2027 Elections

Politics Is Expensive’: Wike Reacts to Opposition Complaints Over Abuja Billboard Costs

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The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has defended the high cost of billboard advertising in Abuja, insisting that political campaigns are expensive globally and that parties should explore alternative. platforms, including social media, to reach voters ahead of the 2027 general elections.

Wike made the remarks during his monthly media chat in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, on Thursday, following complaints by opposition parties over the rising cost of securing billboard spaces in the nation’s capital.

Some opposition parties have expressed concerns that the increasing charges for prominent billboard locations in Abuja could restrict their ability to publicise candidates and campaign messages, potentially creating difficulties for parties with limited financial resources.

However, the FCT minister dismissed suggestions that the charges were intended to disadvantage opposition parties, explaining that the increase was part of the administration’s revenue-generation efforts.

According to him, political parties should recognise the financial demands of electioneering and take advantage of digital platforms to communicate with their supporters.

“Politics is expensive all over the world,” Wike said, adding that parties could use their social media platforms to campaign.

The minister maintained that the FCT administration was interested in generating revenue through billboard advertising, particularly during periods when demand for advertising spaces increases.

“We want money. The FCT wants money, and part of us making money is through the billboards to raise our revenue.

“If we know that in a given time, people will rush the billboard and authority feel that we will raise the funds to make more money,” he said.

Wike insisted that the charges were not introduced to target any political party, stressing that the revenue generated would be channelled into infrastructure development and improved public services across the territory.
“The authority did not raise funds against you, because it is you.

“I am going to use the money to do more roads, to improve the schools,” he stated.

The former Rivers State governor also questioned the significance opposition parties attached to billboard advertising, arguing that the medium alone could not determine the outcome of an election.

He suggested that political parties should focus on broader campaign strategies rather than relying heavily on outdoor advertising to secure electoral support.

“For Christ’s sake, a billboard does not win an election; how many people in the villages know about the billboard?” he said.

Addressing concerns about unequal access to campaign advertising platforms, Wike noted that political parties and other organisations also pay substantial amounts to secure premium advertising slots in media organisations.

He further explained that the FCT administration was not responsible for determining which individuals or organisations secured billboard spaces, maintaining that advertisers could make advance payments to reserve preferred locations.

“People go and pay a year ahead for billboards, ‘how will I know?’ ‘My business is not going to ask, who and who paid for the billboard; I have no business there,” he said.

Wike also challenged opposition parties alleging discrimination in the allocation or pricing of billboard spaces to formally approach the FCT administration with their complaints.

He insisted that no political party or representative had personally brought the matter to his attention.

“Let them complain to us; no one has complained to us. Nobody has complained to me,” he said.

The controversy over billboard advertising costs comes as political parties begin preparations for the 2027 general elections, with access to campaign platforms, media visibility and funding expected to feature prominently in political activities ahead of the polls.

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