Why Tinubu Pulled Back Campaign Council List

The Presidency has been compelled to review the composition of members of the APC 2027 Presidential Campaign Council due to anomalies capable of embarrassing the campaign, Daily Trust can report.

The list had elicited several reactions from both within and outside the party since it was made public on Saturday, with many drawing attention to what they consider unnecessary omissions and questionable inclusions in the list.

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is to chair the council, with Vice President Kashim Shettima and APC National Chairman, Professor Nentawe Yilwatda, serving as Vice Chairmen I and II respectively, while former governor of Zamfara State, Senator Abdulaziz Yari, is to serve as Director-General and Imo State Governor, Hope Uzodimma, will serve as Secretary of the council.

Sources in the APC informed Daily Trust that the presidency moved quickly to tinker with the list as it contains many anomalies that could send the wrong signals about the composition of the campaign council.

Issues raised about the composition of members of the council include the inclusion of those who many feel shouldn’t be there due to corruption charges against them, exclusion of those who should have been included because of their experiences and those whose names were omitted due to human error.

Various sources in both the Presidency and in the APC confirmed to Daily Trust that the date for the inauguration of the council has not been announced because there is a need to fine-tune the list of members.

There are indications, however, that the adjustments will not affect the DG and secretary of the council. A highly reliable source in the presidency told our correspondent that the leadership of the council would remain intact, while it is only the composition of the membership that would be adjusted to remove some names and bring in some others.

“Everything is being done in the Villa, but we are aware that the list is being reviewed due to the concerns raised about the inclusion of names of some people who are not supposed to be there and the exclusion of those that would add value to the campaign.

“But that should be expected in politics as lots of interests are involved,” he stated.

Our correspondent confirmed that the list suffers from three major defects which are: inclusion of names of those with alleged corruption cases; those who ordinarily should have been included due to their experience but were left out and those omitted through mere oversight.

Daily Trust reports that there were complaints over the inclusion of the former minister for humanitarian affairs, Betta Edu and former chairperson of the Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF) board, Ngozi Olejeme.

Edu is the director, women mobilisation of the council while Olejeme is to serve as South-south zonal director for election planning, coordination and mobilisation.

Edu and Olejeme had cases of alleged financial impropriety against them while serving in public offices.

There are also those who, because of the sensitivity of their office, should not have been named in the committee but were included, like the Chairman of the Nigeria Revenue Service, Zacheus Adedeji, who is to function as the deputy director, fundraising of the council.

The source explained that those who ordinarily should have made it to the list included those who have played key roles in such campaigns in the past.

Among those in this category are Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo (SAN), who served as the spokesman and Director of Public Affairs of the 2023 council; former Plateau State governor, Simon Lalong, who served as Director-General of the APC Presidential Campaign Council in 2023; as well as former governors who are members of the party like, Yahaya Bello, Gbenga Daniel and Ibikunle Amosun.

While those who were omitted through sheer error include the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Benjamin Kalu and senators in state campaign offices.

A source who served in the last campaign council said such reviews are not new. He said for the 2023 elections, the first list of members that was sent was recalled and fine-tuned due to similar observations before inauguration.

There were speculations that despite Katsina State Governor, Dikko Radda’s support for the Tinubu’s administration, his name was missing from the  Presidential Campaign Council released at the weekend.

The Governor  has however  reiterated his commitment to the re-election of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for a second term in the 2027 presidential election.

Meanwhile, efforts to get the reaction of the Presidency on the review of the list were not successful, as the line of Mr. Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, could not be reached.

Also, Dr Daniel Bwala, the Special Adviser to the President on Policy Communications, did not respond to calls made to his phone.

Tunde Rahman, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Special Duties, could not be reached either.

As at the time of filing this report, messages sent to the three presidential aides, including WhatsApp messages, were yet to be replied to.

Kwanwaso faults APC list, Melaye threatens court action

Vice Presidential Candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, while reacting to the recently constituted council, said Nigerians deserved a “new direction” rather than continuation of what he described as a system that had subjected citizens to severe hardship.

He noted that the composition of the campaign council, which includes several political actors associated with the present administration, offered Nigerians a clear picture of the choice before them in the 2027 election.

He said, “The council brings together many of the same political actors who have supported, defended or participated in the present administration.

“Their coming together raises a fundamental question: what exactly are they asking Nigerians to vote for in 2027, a new beginning, or the continuation of the same system that has brought severe hardship to our people?”

The former governor said the country was facing widespread economic and social challenges, including rising food prices, unemployment, insecurity and pressure on essential public services.

Kwankwaso also appealed to former Zamfara State governor, Senator Abdul’aziz Yari, to reconsider his decision to serve as Director-General of the APC Presidential Campaign Council.

He said Yari, as a former governor and prominent North-West politician, understood the impact of insecurity, poverty, unemployment, displacement and destruction of livelihoods on the people.

“I will be surprised if, in his good conscience, he will lead a campaign whose principal objective is to secure the continuation of a government under which many of the people he once governed, and other innocent Nigerians, remain trapped in these challenges,” Kwankwaso said.

He also questioned the involvement of senior officials of critical public institutions in the APC campaign’s fundraising and finance structures.

Kwankwaso specifically mentioned the NRS Chairman, Adedeji, and the Director-General of the Budget Office of the Federation, Dr Tanimu Yakubu Kurfi.

He argued that the leadership of critical public institutions required neutrality, integrity and public confidence.

According to him, the government and the APC should explain how the participation of senior officials responsible for public revenue and national finances in partisan campaign structures is consistent with institutional neutrality and public trust.

Former Kogi West senator, Dino Melaye, also said he was planning to take the APC 2027 Presidential Campaign Council to court due to a conflict of interest about Adedeji’s role in the council.

He also challenged President Tinubu’s decision to chair his own presidential campaign council.

“You are serving as the country’s Chairman of Nigerian Revenue Service, NRS, formally known as FIRS. Is there no conflict in this? As a lawyer, by the grace of God, on Monday, I’m going to court. We have to test that,” Melaye said.

Security won’t suffer due to my inclusion – Defence Minister

The Minister of Defence, Gen. Christopher Musa, said he would not allow the security of the country to suffer while discharging his duty as a member of the campaign council that was recently constituted.

The Minister, who spoke through his Special Assistant on Media, Leah Katung-Babatunde, via a statement, described his inclusion as a call to higher service.

Accepting the appointment, the Defence Minister promised to execute the strategic tasks of the office with diligence, administrative rigour, and single-minded focus to guarantee party victory.

“National security remains our highest imperative. The ongoing operations, strategic reforms, and inter-agency collaborations across the defence sector will continue unabated with increased vigour.

“Our resolve to uphold the mandate of the Ministry of Defence, protect our people, and drive Mr. President’s vision for a safe and prosperous Nigeria remains firm and unshakeable,” Musa said.

He, however, called on party members and all patriotic citizens to remain united behind the administration, expressing absolute confidence that the APC will achieve success at the polls while continuing to deliver robust governance and security for the nation.

‘Kwankwaso Jittery over Yari’s appointment’

A group, APC Daga Titi Zuwa Titi, a Northwest Grassroots mobilisation group, has criticised Kwankwaso on his comments over the appointment of Yari as DG of the APC Presidential Campaign Council.

The APC group said the opposition is not only jittery with the emergence of Yari, but the development has also unsettled the opposition camp as a whole.

In a statement by its National Coordinator, Comrade Jaafar Hassan, in Abuja on Monday, the group said it was revealing that out of all the appointments announced in the APC campaign structure, Kwankwaso found it necessary to personally appeal to Senator Yari to reconsider his acceptance of the responsibility.

According to the group, politicians rarely advise their opponents to abandon positions they consider politically irrelevant. (Daily trust)