• ADC tags inauguration of campaign council ‘rape of democracy’
• Adeleke, Soludo drum support forTinubu’s re-election
• Oyetola’s ally slams Adeleke’s 1.5m vote promise for Tinubu as fantasy

President Bola Tinubu has warned the All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential Campaign Council (PCC) against allowing the rigours of the 2027 re-election campaign to distract him from governance, insisting that his responsibilities as President must take precedence over political activities.

The inauguration came ahead of the formal flag-off of his re-election campaign scheduled for October 24 in Kaduna, as the ruling party moves to consolidate its structures and coordinate mobilisation across states, local government areas and wards.

This came as the APC National Chairman, Prof. Nentawe Yilwatda, charged members of the PCC to unite national and grassroots structures, communicate the achievements of President Bola Tinubu’s administration and mobilise Nigerians for his re-election in 2027.

Speaking at the inauguration, Yilwatda described the assignment to the PCC as a collective responsibility requiring effective coordination, discipline, strategic communication and sustained engagement with Nigerians.

But the African Democratic Congress (ADC) PCC condemned the inauguration of the APC PCC in Abuja, describing it as a calculated attempt to impose a one-party dictatorship on Nigeria.

The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, and governors of Anambra and Osun states, Charles Soludo and Ademola Adeleke, in that order, were present at the inauguration of the APC-PCC in Abuja.

Meanwhile, Ismail Omipidan, a former media aide to ex-Governor Gboyega Oyetola, warned President Tinubu to be wary of the APC’s strategy in Osun ahead of the 2027 presidential election, saying it might backfire.

Tinubu gave the warning yesterday while inaugurating the APC-PCC at the State House Conference Centre in Abuja, stressing that Nigeria’s pressing needs require his full attention, even as the party begins mobilisation for the 2027 general elections.

“You have warned me and asked me not to allow the rigours of the campaign to distract me from governance. I hear you. I am in full agreement with your decision,” the President said.

“Nigeria needs more attention now than ever before. The responsibility of this office does not pause. That responsibility does not recognise our agenda here today.”

In a statement signed by his Special Adviser on Media and Information Strategy, Abimbola Tooki, the APC chairman said the party’s campaign must be anchored on the administration’s record, an honest acknowledgement of prevailing challenges and a credible vision for the country’s future.

According to Yilwatda, the administration’s economic reforms and investments in roads, power, gas, railways, ports, agriculture, and digital connectivity must be clearly communicated to Nigerians, with an emphasis on their impact on productivity, employment, commerce, and national development.

He emphasised that the success of the campaign would depend on the effective collaboration of national leaders, governors, legislators, state chapters, local government structures and ward members to ensure that the party’s message reaches every community.

THE ADC-PCC Director of Media and Publicity, Kola Ologbondiyan, while reacting to the inauguration yesterday, alleged that the ruling party was undermining Nigeria’s multi-party democracy by allegedly coercing opposition governors into its fold or incorporating them into its PCC despite their reluctance to defect from their respective political parties.

“What we are witnessing is not politics, but political abduction. You cannot claim to be a democrat while using state power to force opposition governors into your party and then drafting them into your campaign council. This is political banditry,” he said.

Ologbondiyan accused the APC of pursuing a political agenda that could concentrate power in the hands of an individual, alleging that key national institutions, security agencies and the judiciary were being deployed to weaken opposition forces.

The ADC-PCC spokesman urged Nigerians of conscience to resist the emergence of an immoral political order driven by the desire to retain power at the expense of citizens’ welfare.

WIKE, Adeleke and Soludo, despite belonging to different political parties, were named coordinators of the APC campaign in the FCT, as well as Rivers, Anambra and Osun states, in a list released on Tuesday.

Speaking at the event, held at the State Banquet Hall in Abuja yesterday, Yilwatda praised the party’s structure and political reach.

Adeleke said that four years is not enough for Tinubu’s reforms to take effect and urged Nigerians to support his re-election in 2027.

“We must give our father, the President of this nation, time for his reform to work. It’s not easy. Four years is not enough,” he said. “That is why I am here to throw my weight behind him.”

Widely known as “the dancing governor”, Adeleke said he could already feel the victory coming in 2027.

Soludo, on his part, expressed confidence that Tinubu will secure a second term in office, urging progressive political groups across the country to unite behind the President.

The governor said the principles of national unity, security and shared prosperity informed his support for Tinubu.
BUTIn a scathing article entitled ‘Tinubu must beware: Osun panic strategy may backfire!’ released yesterday, Omipidan said any political strategy designed to achieve the selfish ambition of an individual is bound to fail.

He was reacting to the appointment of Adeleke, who won the August 15 governorship election on the platform of the Accord Party, as Coordinator of Tinubu’s campaign in Osun, and his promise to deliver 1.5 million votes for the President.

Omipidan said the first time he heard about the 1.5 million vote theory was barely 24 hours after APC lost the August 15 governorship election in Osun, adding that listening to the National Secretary of APC, Ajibola Basiru, repeat it confirmed suspicions that some persons in the Presidency and national officials of the party plotted APC’s defeat in Osun.

He said the Presidency and APC leadership failed to consider local peculiarities, character and culture of the people in bringing opposition figures to work for Tinubu’s re-election, noting that what works in Rivers and Anambra may not succeed in Osun.

The journalist argued that Osun has never recorded more than 1 million votes in any presidential election in its history, describing the 1.5 million promise as unrealistic.