President Bola Tinubu on Wednesday inaugurated the All Progressives Congress campaign council for his 2027 re-election bid in Abuja (Channels TV, Premium Times, Leadership, Punch). He said governance would remain his priority and that he will not attend every rally; Leadership quoted him saying Nigeria needs fixing now. He urged members to deliver polling units (Channels TV). The council includes opposition figures: Nyesom Wike was named coordinator for the FCT and Rivers State, and Governors Adeleke and Soludo were named managers for Osun and Anambra (Channels TV, ThisDay). Atiku Abubakar called the list "a crowded confession of Tinubu's fear" (ThisDay, Vanguard) and the ADC accused the APC of coercing opposition governors (Vanguard). Vice-President Shettima answered Atiku and Peter Obi (Vanguard, Punch, Daily Trust). TheCable and Peoples Gazette reported that Mr Tinubu called himself governor in his speech.
The council will run the president's campaign for the January 16, 2027 election (Vanguard), and its make-up shows the APC's method: bring rivals inside the tent rather than beat them outside it. Whether those figures bring voters, not just titles, is the open question.
Expect months of rallies, posters and defections. Treat claims on every side as campaign statements, and rely on INEC for dates and candidate lists.
Supporters say a broad council shows wide backing for the president's reforms, and that he is right to keep running the government while others campaign.
Critics say a crowded list betrays fear of voters, that coercion of opposition governors is unfair, and that holding a party event at the Presidential Villa blurs government and campaign.
Names on a list are not votes. Watch three things: whether APC governors accept Wike's role in their states, how the PDP, APGA and Accord treat members who took posts, and whether the opposition agrees one candidate. The slip about being governor is reported by two outlets, but with no recording seen it is a footnote, not a finding.
Channels TV, Premium Times, Leadership, Punch, Vanguard, ThisDay, Daily Trust, TheCable, Peoples Gazette, BusinessDay (Oct 14 - 15, 2026)
Tinubu opens his campaign council and says he will skip some rallies; Atiku calls the crowded list "a confession of fear"Tinubu opens his campaign council and says he will skip some rallies; Atiku calls the crowded list "a confession of fear"
The "rainbow" roster put Wike, Adeleke and Soludo to work for the APC. The opposition says it shows fear, and Vice-President Shettima hit back at Atiku and Obi.
President Bola Tinubu on Wednesday inaugurated the All Progressives Congress campaign council for his 2027 re-election bid at a ceremony in Abuja, according to Channels TV, Premium Times, Leadership and Punch. Channels reported that he told members governance would remain his priority, and that colleagues had cautioned him against letting campaigning pull him away from his duties. Leadership quoted him saying Nigeria needs fixing now and that he will not attend every rally; Vanguard and Daily Trust carried the same message in their headlines. Channels also said he urged members to deliver polling units. Vanguard put the presidential election on January 16, 2027.
The roster is what drew attention. Vanguard said the Presidency and the party put leading opposition figures and governors on the council despite push-back from sections of the APC. Nyesom Wike, the Federal Capital Territory minister and a chieftain of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party, was named coordinator for the FCT and Rivers State, Channels TV reported, and ThisDay said Governors Ademola Adeleke of Osun and Chukwuma Soludo of Anambra were named managers for their states. At the ceremony Wike told APC governors to deliver their states and not to claim victory if they failed, Channels and Daily Trust said. Premium Times reported that Senate President Godswill Akpabio and Opeyemi Bamidele backed Wike's Rainbow Coalition, and BusinessDay said the Senate declared on Tuesday that the coalition is on course for Mr Tinubu's victory. Akpabio also told governors to finish their terms before eyeing other offices, Channels TV and Daily Trust reported. Premium Times added that the council wants the party to use its hold on federal, state and local governments to reach wards and polling units.
The opposition answered within hours. Atiku Abubakar, the former vice-president, called the revised list "a crowded confession of Tinubu's fear", according to ThisDay and Vanguard. Vanguard said he accused the president of putting political alliances ahead of hardship and insecurity, and Premium Times said he questioned the use of the Presidential Villa for the inauguration. The African Democratic Congress accused the APC of coercing opposition governors into the council, Vanguard reported. Punch said Governor Seyi Makinde's campaign called the team a "coalition of failed politicians". Vice-President Kashim Shettima told Atiku "you're not Abraham Lincoln", Vanguard reported, and called Peter Obi a "master of bogus statistics", Punch and Daily Trust said. TheCable and Peoples Gazette reported that Mr Tinubu referred to himself as governor in his speech; DailyDrop has seen no recording and no Presidency comment.
What to watch: whether APC governors accept Wike's role in their states, how the PDP, APGA and Accord react to members who took council posts, and whether opposition leaders agree on one candidate, a question Punch said coalition talks are still working on. The claim that Mr Tinubu's rally plans show ill health is in our unverified box.