PDP senator removed, Tunde Bakare, others in as APC updates campaign council

The All Progressives Congress (APC) has released an updated presidential campaign council list for the 2023 election.

President Muhammadu Buhari retained his position as chairman while APC presidential candidate Bola Tinubu and chairman Abdullahi Adamu were named as the deputy chairmen I and II of the council.

APC vice presidential candidate, Kashim Shettima, will serve as vice chairman.

Governor Simon Lalong of Plateau State will serve as the director general of the campaign council and will be assisted by former Edo State governor, Adams Oshiomhole.

The list dated October 19 was signed by APC national secretary Iyiola Omisore.

The initial list released by James Faleke, a House of Representatives member and secretary of the council, had elicited displeasure among top members of the party. It had a senator of the opposition People’s Democratic Party (PDP) representing Enugu East Senatorial District Chimaroke Nnamani.

READ ALSO: APC names PDP senator in Tinubu campaign, shuns Osinbajo, others

Some APC governors were reportedly displeased over the exclusion of their nominees from the campaign council list which had 422 members at the time.

The new list released by the party has over 600 names, including presidential aspirant Pastor Tunde Bakare, all the members of the national working committee (NWC), the federal executive council (FEC), the APC National Assembly caucus and chairmen of the party in the states.

Bayo Onanuga is listed as the deputy director-general (operations) and director of media and publicity while Faleke retained his position as secretary of the APC presidential campaign council.

Notable absentees in the initial and updated list are Yakubu Dogara, former speaker of the house of representatives, Babachir Lawal, former secretary to the government of the federation, and Chukwuemeka Nwajiuba, former minister of state for education.

Dogara and Lawal had distanced themselves from the ruling party’s Muslim-Muslim ticket of Bola Tinubu and Kashim Shettima.

Buhari is scheduled to unveil the party’s manifesto and inaugurate the APC campaign council on Friday.