2027: Tinubu Names Wike, Soludo, Adeleke in Expanded Presidential Campaign Council

President Bola Tinubu’s re-election campaign has expanded its political coalition with the inclusion of prominent opposition figures and state governors in the All Progressives Congress Presidential Campaign Council ahead of the January 16, 2027, presidential election.

The expanded council includes Federal Capital Territory Minister Nyesom Wike of the Peoples Democratic Party, Osun State Governor Ademola Adeleke of Accord, and Anambra State Governor Chukwuma Soludo of the All Progressives Grand Alliance. Their appointments come despite reported resistance from some APC stakeholders concerned about giving formal campaign roles to politicians outside the ruling party.

Under the revised arrangement, Wike will coordinate the campaign in Rivers State and the Federal Capital Territory, while Soludo will oversee activities in Anambra and Adeleke will coordinate the campaign in Osun. Former Gombe State governor and serving PDP senator Ibrahim Dankwambo was also named an adviser, alongside Obafemi George, who will advise on media strategy.

Senator Abdulaziz Yari retained his position as Director-General of the re-election campaign. Former Edo State governor Adams Oshiomhole was appointed Deputy Director-General for Mobilisation, while the President’s Chief of Staff, Femi Gbajabiamila, will serve as Deputy Director-General for Administration. Minister of Works David Umahi was named Deputy Director-General for Infrastructure and Sensitisation.

Other appointments include Delta State Governor Sheriff Oborevwori as Director of Finance, with Ogun State Governor Dapo Abiodun and Nigeria Revenue Service Chairman Zacch Adedeji jointly coordinating fundraising. Former Kano State governor Abdullahi Ganduje will oversee stakeholder mobilisation, while former Lagos State governor Babatunde Fashola was named South-West Zonal Coordinator for Stakeholders’ Mobilisation. Imo State Governor Hope Uzodimma retained his role as campaign council secretary.

The revised list also names all 32 APC governors as campaign coordinators for their respective states, while the party’s governorship candidates in Oyo, Bauchi and Abia were assigned coordination roles in those states. Minister of Solid Minerals Dele Alake remains the campaign’s official spokesman, with Aviation Minister Festus Keyamo, Abdulmumin Jibrin, Lere Olayinka and Segun Sowunmi among those joining the media communications team.

The expansion follows concerns reportedly raised by some APC loyalists who feared that bringing non-APC politicians into the formal campaign structure could sideline party members and create friction in states such as Rivers, Osun and Anambra. However, sources cited in the report said Tinubu favoured a unified structure to coordinate campaign resources, logistics and grassroots mobilisation rather than relying on separate support groups.

Speaking during a media chat in Abuja, Wike defended his appointment, saying the President wanted to accommodate people from outside the APC who were willing to support his re-election. He said the arrangement was intended to bring supporters together without requiring them to abandon their own political parties.

“My thinking is that the president, in his wisdom, said there are those who are not members of our political parties but have something to offer to his re-election, and it’s proper to accommodate them,” Wike said.

Wike also defended his Rainbow Coalition, which supports Tinubu’s re-election, saying it would continue operating alongside the APC campaign. He rejected suggestions that the coalition was intended to displace the ruling party or that its activities would necessarily create confusion among supporters. He maintained that backing Tinubu did not prevent other parties from fielding candidates for National Assembly and other elections.

The minister predicted that Tinubu would win the 2027 presidential election on the first ballot, dismissing the possibility of a run-off. He also denied working against APC governors Hope Uzodimma of Imo, AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq of Kwara and Inuwa Yahaya of Gombe, insisting that his support for Tinubu did not amount to an agreement to abandon candidates from his own party.

Wike further explained that his appointment to coordinate the campaign in Rivers reflected what he described as the state’s peculiar political circumstances. He denied that Governor Siminalayi Fubara had been sidelined, saying the governor would participate in the campaign and remained part of the broader effort to secure Tinubu’s re-election.

The expanded campaign council is intended to bring together party structures, governors and political allies from different platforms ahead of the 2027 election. The APC National Secretary, Senator Ajibola Bashiru, announced that the council would be inaugurated at the Presidential Villa in Abuja.