-Says ruling party ready for Saturday’s campaign flag-off in Kaduna
-As Yari promises issue-based campaign, says APC will showcase Tinubu’s achievements without insults
By Johnbosco Agbakwuru
ABUJA — The National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Professor Nentawe Yilwatda, has claimed that major opposition parties, including the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) and the Accord Party, have aligned with the ruling party’s campaign for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s re-election in 2027.
Yilwatda stated this while speaking to State House correspondents shortly after meeting with President Tinubu alongside the Director-General of the APC Presidential Campaign Council (PCC), Senator Abdulaziz Yari, to brief him on preparations for the campaign.
He said the development demonstrated the growing political support for the President, adding that the APC had completed preparations for the formal launch of its nationwide presidential campaign in Kaduna on Saturday, October 24.
The APC Chairman said the party has attracted support from political parties that previously defeated the APC in elections, a development he described as evidence of the broadening political alignment around the President.
According to him: “If you look at what the party is doing now, the oppositions are with us. All political parties that have defeated us in any election are all with us; PDP is with us, APGA is with us, Accord Party with us. These are the only political parties that have defeated us, except APM, and they are all with us in this campaign.
“It shows that the entire Nigerian political cycle is Mr. President, and that’s what we’re doing now to ensure that we prepare for this grand flag off in Kaduna”, he declared.
He, however, did not specify whether the claimed support represented formal endorsements by the national leaderships of the opposition parties or political alliances involving individual members and groups within them.
Yilwatda expressed satisfaction with the level of preparations for the Kaduna campaign launch, saying the party’s leadership, campaign committees and state structures were fully mobilised for the exercise.
He explained that his meeting with the President, alongside Yari, was intended to provide an update on arrangements for the event and the readiness of the campaign organisation to commence activities across the country.
“We’ll flag-off the campaign on Saturday, 24th of October, and as you can see, we’re together with the DG to brief Mr. President on the preparation for the flag off.
“For now, everything is set; the preparation is on, the members are motivated, the states, the committees are ready, and everything that is supposed to be done has been done”, he said.
Speaking separately, the Director-General of the APC Presidential Campaign Council, Senator Abdulaziz Yari, said the ruling party would conduct a responsible and issue-based campaign anchored on the achievements of the Tinubu administration rather than personal attacks against opposition candidates.
Yari, a former governor of Zamfara State, said the campaign council had resolved to focus on the record of the APC-led Federal Government and present its accomplishments to Nigerians as the basis for seeking another mandate in the 2027 presidential election.
He maintained that the ruling party would avoid insults and name-calling, insisting that its campaign would be driven by evidence of government performance and the argument for continuity.
“As a Council, what we say we are going to do? We are going to do a campaign with the records. A responsible campaign, no insults, no calling of names because there’s no name before us, but we have a record before us to show to Nigerians”, Yari stated.
He explained that the campaign would provide an opportunity for the party to engage Nigerians on the policies and programmes implemented under the Tinubu administration and make the case for their continuation.
“This is what our party did, this what our government did, so because of that, we are asking, pleading Nigerians to look at this record carefully so that they give us a second chance for continuity”, he added.
The remarks came as the APC intensified preparations for its nationwide presidential campaign ahead of the 2027 general elections, with Kaduna designated as the venue for the formal flag-off.
Yari had earlier announced, following a meeting with Tinubu on October 9, that the President had approved the campaign timetable, including planned visits to states across the federation.
The Presidential Campaign Council was subsequently inaugurated on October 14, setting the stage for the commencement of the ruling party’s nationwide mobilisation activities.
President Tinubu chairs the campaign council, with Vice President Kashim Shettima and Yilwatda serving as vice chairmen, while Yari oversees the day-to-day coordination of campaign activities as Director-General.
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