The National Agenda for Tinubu 2027 (NAFT.27) has called for the appointment of Abdullahi Umar Ganduje as Director-General of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s 2027 Presidential Campaign Council.

NAFT.27, described as a think tank and non-governmental organisation, said it had made a formal presentation to the President, outlining reasons Ganduje, a former National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), should be appointed to the role.

The group noted that it first proposed the idea of Tinubu’s re-election in March 2025 during its inauguration in Abuja.

In its submission, NAFT.27 said its position was based on what it described as “cogent and verifiable reasons,” including the need for an individual with experience in grassroots politics and an understanding of political dynamics across Nigeria.

It also stated that Ganduje, as a scholar, understands voting behaviour in both northern and southern parts of the country.

In a statement issued by its National Convener, Aliyu Ibrahim, the group said Ganduje, during his tenure as APC National Chairman from 2023 to 2025, oversaw party activities and initiated the establishment of the All Progressives Training Institute in Abuja, among other actions.

Ibrahim further said Ganduje encouraged the movement of opposition governors into the APC.

He said appointing Ganduje as Director-General “would not make the victory song easier but provide a seamless campaign drive for the successes of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu GCFR and strengthen the winning streak for the APC.”

The group also urged the President to consider regional balance in making the appointment.

“For instance, it had been a long-standing political culture and tradition to take into consideration the principles of the political zoning formula,” NAFT.27 said.

“As the APC has the President from Southern Nigeria, the DG of the Campaign, which in 2023 went to the North-Central geopolitical zone, should now come from the North-West Geopolitical Zone of Northern Nigeria.”

It added, “Apart from Dr Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, no other known political leadership figure in the North has the political outreach, sagacity and contact profiles from the northern geographical zone, with overwhelming influence across all the 36 States of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory Abuja, other than Dr Abdullahi Umar Ganduje.”