• Police restrict heavy-duty vehicles as posters, banners flood Kaduna
• Federal agency CEOs mobilise 100,000 supporters for Tinubu’s campaign
• Oyetola, Oyebamiji’s camp absent as Adeleke inaugurates Osun Tinubu campaign council
• Rainbow Coalition for presidency only, Adeleke clarifies
• APC scribe: No ego bigger than Tinubu’s victory, APC members must support Adeleke
• Wike seeks support for candidates under rainbow coalition
• Hoodlums vandalise Tinubu re-election campaign secretariat in Ibadan
• Obasanjo’s son joins Tinubu’s movement, backs policy continuity, reforms

Ahead of tomorrow’s flag-off of the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential campaign for the 2027 general election in Kaduna State, the ruling party is still battling the crisis of cohesion and internal wrangling in some states.

While all seems set for a colourful kick-off with campaign posters and banners bearing photographs of President Bola Tinubu, Governor Uba Sani and other party leaders appearing on major roads and public spaces in the state capital, rumblings and misgivings over the vague ‘shape and form’ of the Nyesom Wike-led Rainbow Coalition are causing ripples that may hurt the APC in the general elections in key states.

The APC presidential campaign launch, scheduled for Saturday, is expected to bring together party leaders, governors, political stakeholders and supporters from across Nigeria. However, some residents of Kaduna metropolis have expressed concerns about the country’s economic situation, insecurity and rising unemployment, urging the president to use the campaign to explain how he intends to address their challenges. The residents expressed doubt that the campaign would address these concerns, saying previous political gatherings had not necessarily translated into better living conditions for ordinary Nigerians.

Already, the Kaduna State Police command has announced restrictions on the movement of trailers, tankers, lorries and other heavy-duty vehicles across the Kaduna metropolis from midnight on Thursday to 8:00 p.m. on Saturday ahead of President Tinubu’s visit to the state. The Commissioner of Police, Muhammad Rabiu, announced the restriction during a security briefing, saying it was intended to reduce congestion and ensure the free movement of vehicles during the presidential visit.

He clarified that the restriction would apply only to heavy-duty vehicles, not other commuters. “This restriction only applies to all trailers, tankers, lorries, articulated and other heavy-duty vehicles only, not other commuters. This is done because we want to decongest and make free movement of vehicles in the metropolis,” he said.

Rabiu said the command, working with the military, Department of State Services (DSS) and other security agencies, had activated comprehensive security arrangements to protect the President, dignitaries, campaign participants and members of the public.

He said the deployment would include conventional police personnel, tactical teams, explosive ordnance disposal personnel, traffic management units and crowd-control teams across the campaign venue and other strategic locations. The commissioner also advised people without legitimate business at the venue to stay away from the site and its immediate surroundings.

MEANWHILE, the Forum of CEOs of Federal Government Parastatals (FORCEPA) on Thursday said it has mobilised more than 100,000 supporters to storm the Kaduna venue of the APC presidential campaign kick-off, reaffirming its support for President Tinubu and Vice President Kashim Shettima’s re-election in 2027.

The forum, comprising more than 500 chief executives of federal agencies and parastatals, also pledged to mobilise 10 million votes for Tinubu and Shettima, citing the need for policy continuity and consolidation of the administration’s Renewed Hope Agenda.

Addressing newsmen at the Federal Secretariat, Abuja, its chairman, Dr Kazeem Kolawole Raji, who was joined by other officers of the forum, said members had been deployed to Kaduna to coordinate mobilisation and engage stakeholders ahead of the campaign event. Declaring that the Tinubu administration deserved a second term, he said the forum was established to harness the institutional experience and networks of federal agency chiefs to promote public awareness of government policies and programmes.

FORCEPA particularly defended the Tinubu administration’s economic reforms, including petrol subsidy removal, describing them as difficult but necessary measures to strengthen public finances, attract investment and support long-term growth. However, the forum acknowledged the hardship facing households and businesses, saying the success of the reforms would depend on their ability to deliver jobs, higher incomes and improved living standards.

BUT signs that all may not be well within the party appeared yesterday in Osun State as chieftains of the APC, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Accord Party converged on Osogbo for the inauguration of the Osun State Presidential Campaign Council for the re-election of President Tinubu. The council was inaugurated by Governor Ademola Adeleke, who was appointed Osun State Coordinator for the President’s re-election campaign.

The event came hours after the Osun State chapter of the APC said it was not briefed about the inauguration. Chairman of the party, Tajudeen Lawal, in a statement earlier on Thursday, said the party learnt of the event only through a social media listing by the governor’s spokesperson, but added that it was not opposed to Adeleke coordinating the campaign.

Despite the morning protest, the inauguration hall was filled with who is who in Osun politics, except for former Governor Gboyega Oyetola, Osun APC 2026 governorship candidate, Bola Oyebamiji and other executive members of the party who are loyal to Oyetola and captured in the Council list.

Prominent among those present were the pioneer national chairman of the APC, Bisi Akande, the National Secretary of the APC, Ajibola Basiru, former Osun Deputy Governor, Iyiola Omisore, Sola Adeyeye, Shuaib Oyedokun, former deputy governor, Sooko Adewoyin, Jide Omoworare, Olu Aina, and former deputy governor, Titi Laoye Ponle. Others were Chairman of Osun Accord Party, Victor Akande; Chairman of Osun PDP, Sunday Bisi; Wale Oladiipo; and PDP chieftain, Adelakun Adeoye, among others.

Speaking while inaugurating the council, Adeleke said the gathering was a rainbow coalition assembled to deliver massive votes for President Tinubu. “We assemble here to mobilise and deliver even more than the 1.5 million votes we earlier promised Mr President,” Adeleke said.

“In this hall is a gathering of who is who in Osun political terrain. We have all the strikers, the defenders and the midfielders. This rainbow coalition of Accord, APC and PDP structures is superbly potent to deliver Osun overwhelmingly to Mr President come next January,” he added.

Adeleke clarified that the coalition is solely for the presidential election scheduled for January 16, 2027, and does not extend to other elections. “As coalition partners on the presidential election, we must remind ourselves that the partnership does not extend to the legislative elections. While we will join hands to deliver Mr President on his party platform, coalition partners are free to work for their party candidates during the senatorial, House of Reps and House of Assembly elections. What ties us together is the presidential, not the legislative elections,” Adeleke stated.

The governor also assured that both the Federal and Osun State governments are working to resolve the local government crisis in the state.

Also speaking, the APC National Secretary, Senator Ajibola Basiru, declared that no personal ambition or ego is greater than ensuring the re-election of President Tinubu, urging APC members in Osun to support Governor Adeleke. Basiru said party members must abide by the President’s decision to appoint Adeleke as his campaign coordinator in the state.

He added, “It is in President Tinubu’s wisdom that he chose Governor Adeleke as his campaign coordinator in Osun.” The APC National scribe, who described himself as the most senior political office holder in Southern Nigeria by virtue of his position, said he had to attend the event despite having another engagement in Kaduna.

“The Governor called me yesterday evening to inform me about this inauguration. I have an engagement in Kaduna State this afternoon, but I said I must be here this morning before proceeding to Kaduna because this is my base and we must prioritise it.” Basiru appealed to all political actors in the state to close ranks behind the governor to deliver massive votes for the President.

MEANWHILE, Nyesom Wike, minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), has sought support for candidates under the rainbow coalition, describing political parties as vehicles for attaining power. The minister spoke on Thursday at a meeting organised by the rainbow coalition in Bwari Area Council, Abuja, where he endorsed Philip Aduda, an All Progressives Congress (APC) FCT senatorial candidate for the 2027 elections, and other candidates under the political arrangement.

Wike, convener of the rainbow coalition, a cross-party alliance supporting President Tinubu’s 2027 re-election bid, aid political affiliation should not take precedence over development and good governance. “It doesn’t matter the party. After all, a party is a vehicle that conveys you to where you are going. When you get there, you come down from the vehicle, and you now work for the interest of the people,” he said.

Wike urged FCT residents to judge their representatives by their accessibility and commitment to addressing communities’ needs across the territory. The minister criticised Ireti Kingibe, the senator representing the FCT, saying residents do not feel the impact of her representation.

In September, the Progressive Governors Forum (PGF) said it won’t endorse any alliance or political arrangements that could undermine Tinubu’s re-election bid or the party’s candidates in the 2027 elections. The PGF said they would not entertain any arrangement that could “create confusion, divided loyalty or competing interests” within the party.

This is as Lere Olayinka, Wike’s spokesperson, defended support for President Tinubu’s re-election bid by politicians outside the APC, insisting that the move does not amount to anti-party activity. Olayinka made the position known during an interview on TVC News’ Beyond The Headlines on Thursday.

IN Ibadan, Oyo State, the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu–Kehinde Olaosebikan Grassroots Movement (PBAT-KO Movement) yesterday alleged that hoodlums have vandalised its secretariat, destroyed campaign materials and shattered windows. The movement, in a statement issued on Thursday by its Publicity Secretary, Femi Omolola, said members discovered the damage when they visited the office after the incident.

According to Omolola, the incident occurred at the movement’s secretariat, located at the CICU Building, Olomi-Olojuoro Road, Oluyole Local Government Area. It was alleged that the attackers were suspected agents of the Allied Peoples’ Movement (APM), although it did not provide evidence to substantiate the allegation.

Conducting journalists around the building, Omolola said the incident would not discourage the group from mobilising support for Tinubu’s re-election bid in 2027. “We are undaunted. We are totally committed. Nothing can stop us in our staunch decision to give our very best in support of the President,” he said.

In Abuja, the son of former President Olusegun Obasanjo, Olujonwo Obasanjo, has formally joined the Tinubu Movement for Sustainable Governance Foundation (TMS), also known as Tinubu Must Stay—a political advocacy platform promoting policy continuity, sustainable governance and public understanding of President Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.

Olujonwo, who served as President of the Buhari Youth Organisation (BYO), President of Project One Nigeria, and Senior Special Assistant to the Ogun State Governor on Housing, announced his decision at a press conference in Abuja, where TMS leadership officially welcomed him into the organisation. He said his decision was shaped by his political experience, understanding of Nigeria’s reform history and belief in the importance of sustaining government policies across administrations.

Speaking on his political background, Olujonwo said he has been a member of the All Progressives Congress (APC) since its formation. “I’ve been in the APC since 2014. I was there when my father hosted the late President Muhammadu Buhari and President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to form the movement. I’m not new to the party,” he said.

He argued that several policies of the Tinubu administration have not been adequately explained to Nigerians, creating opportunities for misinformation and misinterpretation.