President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is scheduled to kick off his 2027 re-election campaign in Kaduna on October 24, with the All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential Campaign Council finalising plans for his nationwide campaign tour.
The Director-General of the campaign council, Senator Abdulaziz Yari, disclosed this on Friday while briefing State House correspondents after meeting with Tinubu at the Presidential Villa in Abuja.
Yari said the meeting focused on preparations for the campaign and the timetable for the President’s proposed visits to states across the country, adding that Tinubu had approved the schedule.
“The President asked me to come and brief him on where we are and to discuss the timetable for the state visits.
“By God’s grace, his team, Mr President and I have agreed on how it is going to be done,” the former Zamfara State governor said.
He also announced that the campaign council’s inaugural meeting would hold on October 14 at the State House Banquet Hall, where further details of the campaign activities are expected to be made public.
According to Yari, the campaign tour will move from Kaduna to Port Harcourt before proceeding to Maiduguri.
“The next state is going to Port Harcourt. From there we will be in Maiduguri. We have the timetable, and we’re going to make it available after the inauguration,” he added.
On the political contest ahead, Yari expressed confidence in Tinubu’s support across the country, arguing that victory in a presidential election requires substantial backing in both northern and southern Nigeria.
He challenged opposition figures, including former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar and former Anambra State Governor Peter Obi, to demonstrate their electoral strength nationwide.
Yari specifically questioned the ability of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential candidate to secure substantial support in the South.
“If you don’t know, can you say that the ADC candidate today in the southern part of the country, can he beat his chest and say he has control of one state in the south?” he asked.
The APC campaign chief argued that support concentrated in one region would not guarantee victory nationally. He cited former President Muhammadu Buhari’s previous electoral struggles despite his considerable support across northern states as an example of the importance of a broad national political base.
Yari, however, claimed that Tinubu had attracted considerable support in both northern and southern Nigeria since assuming office.
He also defended the administration’s economic policies, expressing confidence that its performance and the President’s nationwide support would strengthen the APC’s position ahead of the 2027 presidential election.
