• APC releases nationwide schedule for rally
•Tinubu desires one other time period, however ashamed to face the folks, Atiku mocks president
•He’s scared to face the voters, says Makinde/Daura Campaign Organisation
Chuks Okocha, Adedayo Akinwale in Abuja and Jonathan Eze in Lagos
The choice by President Bola Tinubu to personally lead the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential marketing campaign in 12 strategically chosen states forward of the January 16, 2027 election may need inadvertently revealed the place the ruling get together expects some of its fiercest electoral contests.
Beyond the appearances themselves, the alternatives supply an fascinating perception into the president’s electoral calculations and the states thought of crucial to Tinubu’s re-election bid.
Of the 36 states of the federation, Tinubu has elected to personally marketing campaign in Kaduna, Rivers, Plateau, Oyo, Borno, Enugu, Bauchi, Sokoto, Delta, Kano, Adamawa and Lagos, leaving the remaining 24 states and the Federal Capital Territory to the marketing campaign equipment and different get together leaders.
Although the president defined at Wednesday’s inauguration of his Presidential Campaign Council that governance should not undergo on account of electioneering, the states chosen for his private appearances seem something however unintentional.
Indeed, a more in-depth examination of the outcomes of the 2023 presidential election provides maybe the clearest clarification for the selection.
Of the 12 states, Tinubu received solely three — Rivers, Oyo and Borno — within the final presidential election. He misplaced the remaining 9 to his principal opponents, particularly Atiku Abubakar, Peter Obi and Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso.
Instructively, Atiku defeated him in Kaduna, Bauchi, Sokoto and Adamawa, whereas Obi received Plateau, Enugu, Delta and Lagos. Kwankwaso, on his half, carried Kano, delivering practically a million votes underneath the platform of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP).
Put in another way, 75 per cent of Tinubu’s proposed private marketing campaign appearances will happen in states the place he suffered electoral defeats in 2023. This is hardly a coincidence that may be dismissed within the circumstances.
Take Kaduna, for instance. The choice to formally flag off the marketing campaign within the state on October 24 is especially instructive. Atiku polled 554,360 votes there in 2023 in opposition to Tinubu’s 399,293, regardless of the APC controlling the state authorities.
With Atiku once more searching for the presidency, this time on the platform of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Kaduna represents an essential electoral contest, significantly given its political significance within the North-west.
The inclusion of Kano is probably much more revealing. In 2023, Kwankwaso secured 997,279 votes in opposition to Tinubu’s 517,341. But the political circumstances have since modified, with Kwankwaso now working alongside Obi on the platform of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC).
Thus, Kano is now not merely about reversing a earlier electoral defeat. It can also be about confronting the mixed political ambitions of two former presidential candidates, one of whom demonstrated appreciable electoral power within the state.
Sokoto presents a special calculation. Atiku defeated Tinubu there by simply 3,235 votes in 2023, making it one of the closest contests between each candidates. Such a slim margin naturally makes the state an fascinating electoral territory for each events.
Similarly, Adamawa, Atiku’s dwelling state, the place the previous vice-president secured 417,611 votes in opposition to Tinubu’s 182,881, provides the APC one other alternative to check its political power in a longtime opposition stronghold.
Bauchi additionally matches into this northern calculation, particularly with the altering political alliances forward of the 2027 contest.
In the South-east, the choice to go to Enugu is equally important. Tinubu recorded a mere 4,772 votes within the state in 2023, in contrast with Obi’s 428,640. The distinction was staggering and underscored the depth of APC’s electoral difficulties in that half of the nation.
Enugu, subsequently, presents not merely a possibility to hunt votes but in addition an opportunity for the president to make a direct enchantment to an voters that overwhelmingly rejected his candidacy 4 years earlier.
Plateau and Delta, which Obi additionally received in 2023, fall inside the identical broad electoral consideration, though their political circumstances and voting patterns differ significantly.
Then comes Lagos, arguably probably the most symbolic of the 12 states.
For a politician whose political affect has been carefully related to Lagos for a long time, dropping the state to Obi in 2023 was one of the election’s notable developments. Obi polled 582,454 votes in opposition to Tinubu’s 572,606, a distinction of simply 9,848 votes.
That Tinubu has chosen Lagos for the grand finale of his marketing campaign on January 9, 2027, might subsequently carry significance past the customary symbolism of ending a nationwide marketing campaign on acquainted political territory.
It provides the APC a possibility to reveal the power of its organisation in a state that is still central to Tinubu’s political historical past.
However, the inclusion of Rivers, Oyo and Borno, which he received in 2023, means that the marketing campaign technique is just not fully about recovering misplaced floor.
Rivers stays politically essential as a result of of the affect of the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, and the state’s difficult political alignments.
Oyo has assumed further significance with Governor Seyi Makinde’s presidential ambition, whereas Borno stays the political base of Vice-President Kashim Shettima.
These three states could consequently be seen as territories the place the president considers reinforcement of present help simply as essential because the pursuit of new votes elsewhere.
Taken collectively, the 12-state itinerary suggests a deliberate try and steadiness electoral restoration with political consolidation. Seven of the states are within the North, whereas 5 are within the South, guaranteeing that the president’s private appearances minimize throughout all six geopolitical zones.
Of course, the 2023 outcomes can not mechanically decide the result of the 2027 election. Political alliances have modified, candidates have switched platforms, and the voters can be judging Tinubu not merely as a candidate however as an incumbent with a file to defend.
Nevertheless, the marketing campaign timetable has supplied an early glimpse into the geographical priorities of the ruling get together.
While the APC will marketing campaign nationwide, the president’s choice to personally seem in these 12 states means that some electoral contests are receiving specific consideration.
And if the itinerary is something to go by, the battle for 2027 could have already got its first recognized battlegrounds — not essentially by the opposition’s declaration, however by the president’s personal marketing campaign selections.
Meanwhile, the APC has launched its nationwide marketing campaign rally schedule for the 2027 presidential election overlaying 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
According to the timetable sighted yesterday, Tinubu is anticipated to steer the marketing campaign for his re-election in 12 totally different states, together with Kaduna, the place the ruling get together would formally flag-off the marketing campaign on October 24, 2026.
This was because the presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Atiku Abubakar, has stated Tinubu was too ashamed to ask Nigerians for 4 extra years, the explanation he served a discover he wouldn’t go around the nation to marketing campaign.
At the identical time, the Makinde/Daura Presidential Campaign Organisation (MDPCO), has additionally stated Tinubu was scared of being jeered and disgraced by Nigerians over his abysmal failures in workplace, therefore his cowardly choice to not go across the nation to marketing campaign.
In one other growth, Atiku’s Media Office has stated the try by Vice President Kashim Shettima to painting him as a beneficiary of Bola Tinubu’s political generosity in 2007 was a distortion of historical past that ought to not go unchallenged.
APC Releases Nationwide Schedule for Rally, Tinubu Leads Campaign in 12 States
The APC has launched its nationwide marketing campaign rally schedule for the 2027 presidential election overlaying 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
According to the timetable sighted yesterday, Tinubu is anticipated to steer the marketing campaign for his re-election in 12 totally different states, together with Kaduna, the place the ruling get together would formally flag-off the marketing campaign on October 24, 2026.
President Bola Tinubu had Wednesday through the inauguration of the APC Presidential Campaign Council (PCC) held on the Presidential Villa hinted that he received’t be accessible for all of the marketing campaign as a result of he doesn’t need to abandon governance.
The marketing campaign is scheduled to run from October 2026 by means of early January 2027, with Lagos internet hosting the main closing rally on ninth January 2027.
The schedule confirmed that President Tinubu would additionally lead the Port Harcourt marketing campaign scheduled to happen on November 7.
He would even be on the marketing campaign practice to Plateau State on November 14, and could be in motion in Ibadan, Oyo State on November 21.
Similarly, he could be accessible to captain the marketing campaign practice in Borno State on November 25, and he would even be on floor in Enugu on November 28.
The president can also be anticipated to placed on his marketing campaign amour in Sokoto State on December 5, and in Asaba, Delta State on December 12.
Continuing,Tinubu would lead the marketing campaign practice to Kano, the votes hub on December 17, whereas Bauchi State would play host to the APC marketing campaign practice on December 29.
The president would lead the marketing campaign to Yola, Adamawa State, the house state of his most important challenger, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, on Monday, January 4, 2027, whereas the grand finale of the marketing campaign could be held in Lagos State on Saturday, January 9, 2027.
Other marketing campaign schedules embrace Owerri, Imo – Thirtieth December; Akure, Ondo state – eleventh November; Bauchi – twenty ninth November; Katsina – 2nd December; Uyo, Akwa Ibom – 18th November; Makurdi, Benue State -Thirtieth November.
Others are Abeokuta, Ogun State, third December; Awka, Anambra state -Nineteenth November; Gombe state, third November; Kebbi state -Seventeenth November; Edo state – twelfth November, Kwara state -Tenth December.
Also, Osun State will host the marketing campaign on December 9, Abia State on December 7; Yobe State on November 16, Zamfara State on December 14; Bayelsa state on December 15, Niger State December 16, and Ekiti State November 5.
Ebonyi State is billedd for November 9; Taraba State or December 19, Jigawa State for November 10, Cross River for November 2; Kogi State December 8; Nasarawa State for November 8; and Adamawa State for January 4, 2027.
Meanwhile, President Tinubu has issued an order to the Director of Women Mobilisation of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential Campaign Council, Dr. Betta Edu, and the get together’s girls management nationwide to galvanise the feminine voters, consolidate grassroots help and spearhead an expansive mobilisation drive forward of the 2027 common election.
The president gave the directive on Wednesday afternoon on the inauguration of the APC Presidential Campaign Council on the Banquet Hall of the Presidential Villa, Abuja, the place he extolled the political significance of girls and underscored their indispensable position within the get together’s electoral calculations.
Recognising girls as an influential constituency whose organisational dexterity, numerical power and penetration of grassroots communities might considerably form the electoral panorama, Tinubu charged them to transform their longstanding dedication to the APC right into a formidable and meticulously coordinated political drive.
The President pledged his help for legislative efforts to develop girls’s illustration in elected places of work, assuring the gathering that his administration would sponsor the Women Reserve Seat Bill.
“You women are the greatest mobilisers, and I assure you a sponsorship of the Women Reserve Seat Bill. Go and work for it, it will come to fruition to increase the number of women representation at both National Assembly and subnational level. I assure you that,” Tinubu declared.
Tinubu Wants Another Term, But Ashamed to Face the People, Atiku Mocks President
Presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Atiku Abubakar, has stated President Bola Tinubu was too ashamed to ask Nigerians for 4 extra years, the explanation he served a discover he wouldn’t go around the nation to marketing campaign.
Instead, he claimed that the president selected to ship governors, ministers and defectors throughout the nation to defend the hardship of the previous three and a half.
Also, the Makinde/Daura Presidential Campaign Organisation (MDPCO), has corroborated this when it additionally stated Tinubu was scared of being jeered and disgraced by Nigerians over his abysmal failures in workplace, therefore his cowardly choice to not go across the nation to marketing campaign, which is an aberration in a democracy.
This, nonetheless, the media workplace of Atiku has stated the try by Vice-President Kashim Shettima to painting Atiku as a beneficiary of Tinubu’s political generosity in 2007 was a distortion of historical past that ought to not go unchallenged.
An announcement by the Director of Strategic Communication of the ADC Presidential Campaign Council, Phrank Shaibu, acknowledged that, “Tinubu says he could miss marketing campaign rallies as a result of Nigeria wants his consideration. Where was that urgency when Nigerians pleaded for reduction?
He has had three and a half years to manipulate. In that point, households have been compelled to chop meals, postpone medical care and watch their earnings lose worth earlier than they get dwelling.
“Now he desires one other mandate. Before asking Nigerians for one, he should face them and account for the primary time period.
“Let him look a mom within the eye and clarify what his authorities has accomplished to make meals inexpensive. Let him inform pensioners why they can’t afford their medicines. Let him clarify to younger Nigerians why years of research and exhausting work have nonetheless not introduced them first rate jobs.
“Tinubu says American collectors can not wait. Nigerians can not wait both. They have payments to pay, youngsters to feed and lives to rebuild. They deserve a President who treats their struggling with the identical urgency he offers collectors and buyers.
“Instead, he’s assembling a crowd of politicians to talk for him. He can fill each marketing campaign stage in Nigeria. He can not fill an empty pot with surrogates. He can not ship a politician right into a market to influence costs to fall.
“The folks on his marketing campaign council didn’t obtain the mandate in 2023. Tinubu did. He made the guarantees. He took the selections. He should face the questions.
“Nigerians will hear whatever his surrogates have to say. But when they vote, they will remember what they have lived through. No crowd of politicians can stand between Tinubu and his record.”
Tinubu Scared to Face Electorate, Says Makinde/Daura Campaign Organisation
The Makinde/Daura Presidential Campaign Organisation (MDPCO), has stated President Bola Tinubu was scared of being jeered and disgraced by Nigerians over his abysmal failures in workplace, therefore his cowardly choice to not go across the nation to marketing campaign.
Referring to himself as “Governor Tinubu” on the inauguration of his presidential marketing campaign council, it stated indicated a critical state of confabulation, disorientation and disconnection from actuality underscoring his unfitness to manipulate.
In an announcement by the Director of Strategic Communications of Makinde and Daura Presidential Campaign, Richard Ihediwa, stated the marketing campaign thought of Tinubu’s choice to not accompany the “Nebuchadnezzar Coalition” to each state of the federation as a determined try and evade public resentment, figuring out that his authorities has renewed the “anger” of Nigerians, fairly than their “hope” up to now three and a half years.
The Director of strategic communications additional stated the choice not solely constituted a critical affront to the Nigerian voters, but in addition made a caricature of democratic ethos.
“Mr. President’s choice and his confabulatory assertion additional confirmed fears by Nigerians that he’s not match to face the rigours of governing a nation like Nigeria.
“The choice to not marketing campaign across the nation additionally reinforces public apprehension that the All Progressives Congress (APC) is just not prepared for a free, truthful and credible election however plotting to bypass and compromise the method in opposition to the Will of the folks.
“A president who believes he has performed well should be confident to defend his record before the people. However, having failed in all of his promises and having no meaningful achievements to boast of, President Tinubu is now fishing for excuses not to face the people.”
Attempt by Shettima to Portray Atiku as Beneficiary of Tinubu’s Political Generosity Misrepresents Historical Facts
Atiku Abubakar’s Media Office has stated the try by Vice President Kashim Shettima to painting him as a beneficiary of Bola Tinubu’s political generosity in 2007 was a distortion of historical past that ought to not go unchallenged.
In a an announcement, the media workplace stated, ‘’For Shettima’s schooling, the Action Congress (AC), on whose platform Atiku contested the 2007 presidential election, was not Tinubu’s private political property.
‘’The AC emerged in 2006 from a coalition involving Tinubu’s faction of the Alliance for Democracy (AD), the Advanced Congress of Democrats (ACD), the Justice Party and different political pursuits.
‘’On the AD aspect have been Bola Tinubu, Chief Bisi Akande, Aremo Olusegun Osoba, Otunba Niyi Adebayo and different distinguished AD leaders.
‘’On the ACD/PDP breakaway aspect have been Atiku Abubakar, Chief Audu Ogbeh, Chief Tom Ikimi, Alhaji Lawal Kaita, Alhaji Bashir Dalhatu, Alhaji Abubakar Rimi and former Speaker Ghali Na’Abba, amongst others.’’
The assertion claimed that these have been political heavyweights who got here collectively to construct another political platform within the aftermath of the battle in opposition to President Olusegun Obasanjo’s third-term ambition.
The Atiku media workplace additional stated it was a coalition of political pursuits, not a charity established by Tinubu to accommodate Atiku.
Accordingly, the Atiku media workplace stated, “Indeed, Chief Bisi Akande, a central figure in the formation of the AC and its former National Chairman, acknowledged in his autobiography: “In 2007, we formed a party, the AC, with Abubakar Atiku.”
The Media workplace of the previous vice chairman stated, ‘’Akande additionally disclosed that the understanding was for Atiku to emerge because the presidential candidate, with Tinubu thought of as his working mate. That proposal in the end failed over objections to a Muslim-Muslim presidential ticket.
‘’Now, if Tinubu merely gave Atiku a political platform out of generosity, why was Tinubu himself being thought of for the place of working mate? The reply is easy: they have been political companions, not landlord and tenant.
‘’Atiku was already Vice President of Nigeria, with a longtime nationwide political construction and appreciable political affect, lengthy earlier than the AC was shaped. Tinubu didn’t manufacture Atiku’s political relevance.
‘’Shettima must also do not forget that Atiku fought makes an attempt to exclude him from the 2007 presidential election all the way in which to the Supreme Court and prevailed. As for Shettima’s try and ridicule Atiku by evaluating him with Abraham Lincoln and Raila Odinga, what precisely is his level?”
