…Shettima mocks Obi over statistics, battles Atiku on subsidy plan
…Wike vows to deliver Rivers, FCT, warns APC govs against failure
…APGA backs President’s re-election, says elite consensus unprecedented
…Uzodimma urges unity, sustained reforms; Adeleke says four years insufficient
…We’ll campaign on clear records — Yilwatda
By Johnbosco Agbakwuru, Adegboyega Adeleye, Bayo Wahab, Adeyefa Boluwatife, Peace Louis & Claire Akubo
ABUJA — President Bola Tinubu, yesterday, inaugurated his coalition campaign council, charging members to move to all parts of the country and deliver his re-election mandate.
He also asked them not to expect him to accompany them to every campaign rally ahead of the 2027 general election, stressing that the demands of governance and Nigeria’s economic obligations must take priority over electioneering.
The president, speaking at the inauguration of the All progressives Congress, APC, Presidential Campaign Council in Abuja yesterday, charged party leaders to take the administration’s message to the grassroots, while he continues to attend to the affairs of state.
His declaration came as the ruling party intensified preparations for the January 16, 2027 presidential and National Assembly elections, with Vice-President Kashim Shettima taking swipes at the presidential candidates of African Democratic Congress, ADC, Atiku Abubakar, and the Nigeria Democratic Congress, NDC, Peter Obi, over their economic proposals and criticisms of the administration.
Also speaking, Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Nyesom Wike, warned APC governors and other campaign leaders against claiming victory if they fail to deliver their respective states for Tinubu, declaring that electoral performance, rather than positions in the campaign council, will determine success.
The All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA, represented by Anambra State governor, Chukwuma Soludo, also pledged support for Tinubu’s re-election, describing the level of political and elite consensus around the President as unprecedented.
Similarly, Imo State governor and Chairman of the Progressive Governors Forum, Hope Uzodimma, rallied APC governors behind the President, urging them to sustain the administration’s reforms, close ranks and mobilise voters across the country.
Osun State governor, Ademola Adeleke, said Tinubu deserves re-election to continue his projects because four years would not be enough to complete the administration’s transformation agenda.
Nigeria needs more attention now
Explaining why he would not be available for every campaign outing, Tinubu said the responsibilities of his office could not be suspended because of the election.
“You have warned me and asked me not to allow rigours of the campaign 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,” the President said.
Tinubu added that he would still make time to address Nigerians directly, even as the campaign council coordinates mobilisation across the states and local government areas.
“The job must go on. 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.
Tinubu linked his decision to the need to meet the country’s financial obligations, sustain investor confidence and attract long-term investments into the economy.
“We have bills to pay. The American creditors cannot wait. We want those investors to come in, be here to stay, to invest for the future of our children,” he said.
The President maintained that inauguration of the campaign council is not merely a political ceremony but an opportunity for the APC to renew its commitment to Nigerians.
“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 thrust to us as Nigeria’s governing party,” he said.
He charged members of the council to communicate the administration’s vision, record and policy agenda to Nigerians, insisting that the party must work towards victory in every ward.
“This council will carry our vision, our record and our agenda to every Nigerian, and it will carry them to victory,” he said.
Tinubu declared that the APC is entering the election contest “strong, united and renewed,” but cautioned members against complacency, stressing that their previous electoral efforts will count for little without another victory.
“I thank all of you for the last election, but no one gets credit for an incomplete assignment. Until you deliver the next election, until you deliver your words, until you deliver the votes, before we can say thank you,” he said.
He also commended party members for successfully conducting their congresses, despite predictions that the exercise could trigger an internal crisis.
“They said there will be implosion. We passed through it. We did not fail. You didn’t let us down. We got here together,” he said.
Invoking the APC’s symbol, Tinubu urged members to remain committed to tackling poverty, ignorance, illiteracy and under-development.
“That broken shackle represents nothing but breaking the shackle of poverty, ignorance, illiteracy, inaction and failure. We must break the jinx at the back of poverty in this country,” he said.
Shettima takes on Obi, Atiku
In his remarks, Shettima criticised Obi over his economic prescriptions and frequent comparisons between Nigeria and other countries, particularly Bangladesh, arguing that economic policies must reflect the peculiar circumstances of individual countries.
Describing Obi as “my very good friend,” the vice president questioned the suitability of applying foreign economic models to Nigeria without considering differences in population, economic structure, institutions and national priorities.
“He seems convinced that a size 36 shirt tailored for Bangladesh will somehow fit Nigeria’s size 52 frame,” Shettima said.
He argued that governance require a clear understanding of a country’s social, economic, political and institutional realities.
“What succeeds in Bangladesh cannot simply be transplanted to Nigeria without accounting for the differences in our population, economic structures, institutions and national circumstances,” he said.
“A country of over 250 million people cannot be governed through borrowed statistics and economic prescriptions detached from its peculiarities,’’ he said.
Shettima also challenged Obi’s claim that he won the 2023 presidential election, describing the assertion as a “bogus claim” and accusing him of making statements unsupported by evidence.
“This is called delusion of grandeur,” he said, adding that the APC’s political contest was with “the politics of yesterday dressed as tomorrow’s deliverance.”
Obi, who contested the 2023 presidential election on the platform of the Labour Party, finished third behind Tinubu and Atiku.
He has repeatedly criticised the Tinubu administration’s economic management, arguing, among other things, that Nigeria’s challenge is the management of public funds rather than borrowing.
The vice president also took on Atiku over his promise to restore petrol subsidy if elected President in 2027.
Atiku, the ADC presidential candidate, has maintained that his proposed subsidy would be production-based, targeted, capped, transparently budgeted and independently audited, rather than a return to the previous import-dependent arrangement.
He had argued that the measure will support domestic refining and production. On October 9, Atiku also criticised the Federal Government’s 30-day petrol discount at NNPC retail outlets as “too limited and selective,” renewing his call for a production-based subsidy.
But Shettima questioned the financial implications of the proposal, arguing that Atiku’s position raised fundamental questions about funding and competing national priorities.
He described the political season as “a masterclass in cinematic comedy,” accusing the former vice president of changing his ideological position for political advantage.
Atiku, he said, had worn “the toga of capitalism with pride throughout his political career” but now sounded like “the legitimate offspring of Vladimir Lenin.”
Shettima added: “Who pays? Who benefits? And which competing priorities must surrender their funding? A change of ideological wardrobe cannot balance a national budget,” he declared.
He said political ambition should be measured not merely by the desire to occupy public office but also by character, intellectual maturity and responsibility.
“The higher the office a person seeks, the greater the discipline expected in his words, conduct and relationship with public institutions,” he said.
Deliver your states or keep quiet
— Wike
On his part, Wike issued a stern warning to APC governors and other members of the Presidential Campaign Council, insisting that their political positions would mean little if they failed to secure victory for Tinubu in their respective states.
The FCT minister, who was appointed coordinator of the President’s campaign in Rivers State and the FCT, pledged to deliver both territories to the ruling party in the 2027 presidential election.
He said the campaign council’s priority should be the President’s re-election rather than the offices and titles held by its members.
“If you don’t deliver your state and the President wins, don’t say we have won. It is not a question of ‘I am chairman of this’, ‘I am secretary of this’, ‘I am a member of this’. What is important is for the President to win,” Wike said.
He illustrated his point with Lagos State, saying even senior presidential aides must demonstrate electoral strength in their home states.
“I told the Chief of Staff to the President the other day: as Chief of Staff, if the President would win but you don’t win in Lagos, don’t say we have won, because you did not win,” he said.
Wike, who remains a member of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, defended his support for Tinubu, arguing that opposition politics should not mean rejecting government policies simply because they are introduced by a rival party.
“As an opposition party member, as the leader of the Peoples Democratic Party, there are no two leaders of the PDP. I am the leader of the PDP. So I speak on behalf of the Peoples Democratic Party,” he declared.
He maintained that democracy require objective assessment of government performance.
“Democracy is not that if the ruling party is doing well, because you are opposition, you say they are not doing well. That is not democracy,” he said.
Wike praised Tinubu for confronting problems previous administrations allegedly avoided, citing the proposed establishment of state police as an example of the President’s approach to governance.
He argued that state police could help reduce insecurity, expressing confidence that the constitutional process towards its establishment would be concluded in the coming months.
“So many people have said, if you create state police, the insecurity in this country will be reduced. But nobody has taken a step towards creating state police in Nigeria. By the grace of God, in the next few months, I am sure that will be passed to have state police in Nigeria. That is leadership,” he said.
He also claimed that the level of support being mobilised for Tinubu’s re-election is unprecedented.
“Never in our political history has a President had the kind of support and encouragement to say that Nigerians, indeed, would want you back to complete the good works you have started,” he said.
Wike challenged officials in the FCT to dispute the impact of the Tinubu administration in the territory.
“I told the people of FCT: why would you not vote for Mr President? I challenge any area council that can say they do not feel the presence of Mr President,” he said.
He concluded with a pledge to mobilise support in Rivers and the FCT, predicting that the campaign council will return to the Presidential Villa after the election to give thanks.
“January 16, 2027, to the glory of God, we will come back here and say thank you to the Almighty God,” he said.
APGA is Tinubu’s partner
— Soludo
In a significant political endorsement, Soludo said APGA is supporting Tinubu because the party believes in national unity, security and shared prosperity.
He argued that the country is witnessing an unusually broad convergence of political and elite opinion around the President, pointing to the presence of about 33 governors at the gathering.
“There has been no time in our history where you have such a constellation, a consensus of opinion that one man deserves to be re-elected in this country,” he said.
Soludo also urged the ruling party and other progressive political forces to recognise APGA as part of the coalition supporting Tinubu, noting that the party was registered in 2002, 12 years before the APC emerged.
He maintained that the President’s economic reforms, although difficult, were necessary and should be sustained to achieve the desired transformation.
According to him, Nigeria must move from economic stability and reforms to shared prosperity, a process, he argued, would be accelerated by a second Tinubu administration.
He called on progressive political forces to unite behind the President, warning against missing what he described as an opportunity to build a new Nigeria.
“We are with you. We are a partner in this journey back to the Aso Rock,” Soludo said, pledging APGA’s continued support for the President.
APC governors rally behind Tinubu
Earlier in his address, Uzodimma, speaking on behalf of the Progressive Governors Forum, urged APC leaders to close ranks and sustain the administration’s reform programme, arguing that the party’s political strength provided a strong platform for the 2027 contest.
He said APC controls 31 of the 36 states and has elected chairmen in about 685 of the country’s 774 local government areas, in addition to its strength in the National Assembly.
Uzodimma attributed the party’s position to the policies and reforms introduced by Tinubu since assuming office in 2023, including petrol subsidy removal, foreign exchange reforms and changes to the tax system.
While acknowledging the hardship associated with the measures, he argued that the administration’s policies are beginning to produce results, citing economic growth, declining inflation and improved international credit ratings.
He also listed government programmes, including the Nigerian Education Loan Fund, consumer credit scheme, conditional cash transfers and the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway, as evidence of efforts to address economic and infrastructure challenges.
According to him, more than 1.5 million students have benefited from the education loan scheme, with over N350 billion disbursed to cover tuition and upkeep.
He also cited the Renewed Hope Ward Development Programme, designed to extend development initiatives to all 8,809 wards nationwide.
Making a case for Tinubu’s re-election, the Imo governor said the administration needed more time to consolidate its reforms and deliver their expected benefits.
“The question Nigerians will answer in January is whether we build on the foundation or whether we should abandon the foundation,” he said.
He urged the President to remain focused on governance while party leaders handled the campaign.
“Please, Your Excellency, continue with this governance, sustain these reforms, leave the heavy lifting of this campaign to us,” Uzodimma said.
However, he cautioned that the APC’s numerical strength should not be mistaken for guaranteed electoral victory, urging members to reconcile differences arising from party primaries and persuade voters through grassroots engagement.
He also called for peaceful campaigns and compliance with electoral laws, stressing that unity and commitment were essential to the party’s prospects.
“Victory is guaranteed when we are united. Victory is guaranteed when we are committed and work as a focused team,” he said.
The APC campaign council is expected to rely on governors, lawmakers, local government chairmen and party executives to mobilise support across the states and wards, while Tinubu continues to oversee the administration’s economic and governance agenda.
The inauguration signals an early intensification of political mobilisation ahead of the 2027 elections, with the ruling party projecting unity and continuity as its central message, while opposition figures continue to challenge the government’s economic policies and record.
NASS solidly behind Tinubu — Akpabio
Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, in his remarks, declared that the National Assembly is “solidly behind” Tinubu’s re-election bid, insisting that nobody would be allowed to penetrate the legislature to destabilise the President.
“Mr President, it’s because of your personae, because you’ve done well and you deserve a second term in office,” he said.
He added that Nigerians were beginning to recognise the administration’s reforms and that the legislature would not allow anyone to undermine the President.
“What is happening tonight is the fact that Nigerians are seeing your reforms, and Nigerians have also seen the fact that nobody can break through the National Assembly to destabilise you. We are solidly behind you,” Akpabio said.
We’ll campaign on clear records
— Yilwatda
Meanwhile, APC National Chairman, Prof. Nentawe Yilwatda, urged the party’s Presidential Campaign Council to acknowledge the challenges facing the federal government, while presenting its case for Tinubu’s re-election.
Yilwatda said the campaign must combine an account of the administration’s achievements with an honest assessment of its shortcomings.
“We have made so much progress but must acknowledge where we have challenges while explaining the objectives, progress and continuing work of the administration,” he said.
He said the party’s campaign would rest on “a clear record, an honest assessment of the challenges and a credible vision for the future”.
According to him, the administration’s reform agenda and development priorities deserve continued consideration and an opportunity to deliver further results.
Yilwatda charged the council to make its case to Nigerians “convincingly with evidence of progress, a clear explanation of our policies and a practical account of what remains to be achieved”.
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