• APC releases nationwide schedule for rally
•Tinubu needs 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 determination 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 occasion expects some of its fiercest electoral contests.
Beyond the appearances themselves, the alternatives provide an attention-grabbing perception into the president’s electoral calculations and the states thought-about important 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 occasion leaders.
Although the president defined at Wednesday’s inauguration of his Presidential Campaign Council that governance should not endure on account of electioneering, the states chosen for his private appearances seem something however unintended.
Indeed, a more in-depth examination of the outcomes of the 2023 presidential election presents maybe the clearest rationalization for the selection.
Of the 12 states, Tinubu gained 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 gained Plateau, Enugu, Delta and Lagos. Kwankwaso, on his half, carried Kano, delivering almost a million votes beneath 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 determination to formally flag off the marketing campaign within the state on October 24 is especially instructive. Atiku polled 554,360 votes there in 2023 towards 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 vital electoral contest, notably given its political significance within the North-west.
The inclusion of Kano is probably much more revealing. In 2023, Kwankwaso secured 997,279 votes towards 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 not merely about reversing a earlier electoral defeat. It can 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 slender margin naturally makes the state an attention-grabbing electoral territory for each events.
Similarly, Adamawa, Atiku’s residence state, the place the previous vice-president secured 417,611 votes towards Tinubu’s 182,881, presents the APC one other alternative to check its political power in a longtime opposition stronghold.
Bauchi additionally suits 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 gained in 2023, fall throughout the identical broad electoral consideration, though their political circumstances and voting patterns differ significantly.
Then comes Lagos, arguably essentially the most symbolic of the 12 states.
For a politician whose political affect has been carefully related to Lagos for many years, dropping the state to Obi in 2023 was one of the election’s notable developments. Obi polled 582,454 votes towards 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 presents the APC a possibility to show the power of its organisation in a state that continues to be central to Tinubu’s political historical past.
However, the inclusion of Rivers, Oyo and Borno, which he gained in 2023, means that the marketing campaign technique shouldn’t be completely about recovering misplaced floor.
Rivers stays politically vital as a result of of the affect of the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, and the state’s sophisticated political alignments.
Oyo has assumed extra 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 current assist simply as vital because the pursuit of new votes elsewhere.
Taken collectively, the 12-state itinerary suggests a deliberate try to stability electoral restoration with political consolidation. Seven of the states are within the North, whereas 5 are within the South, making certain that the president’s private appearances reduce throughout all six geopolitical zones.
Of course, the 2023 outcomes can not routinely decide the end result of the 2027 election. Political alliances have modified, candidates have switched platforms, and the voters might 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 occasion.
While the APC will marketing campaign nationwide, the president’s determination to personally seem in these 12 states means that some electoral contests are receiving explicit 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 protecting 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
According to the timetable sighted yesterday, Tinubu is predicted to guide the marketing campaign for his re-election in 12 totally different states, together with Kaduna, the place the ruling occasion 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 mentioned Tinubu was too ashamed to ask Nigerians for 4 extra years, the rationale 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 mentioned Tinubu was scared of being jeered and disgraced by Nigerians over his abysmal failures in workplace, therefore his cowardly determination to not go across the nation to marketing campaign.
In one other improvement, Atiku’s Media Office has mentioned 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 protecting 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
According to the timetable sighted yesterday, Tinubu is predicted to guide the marketing campaign for his re-election in 12 totally different states, together with Kaduna, the place the ruling occasion 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 gained’t be obtainable 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 early January 2027, with Lagos internet hosting the foremost 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 prepare to Plateau State on November 14, and can be in motion in Ibadan, Oyo State on November 21.
Similarly, he can be obtainable to captain the marketing campaign prepare in Borno State on November 25, and he would even be on floor in Enugu on November 28.
The president can 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 prepare to Kano, the votes hub on December 17, whereas Bauchi State would play host to the APC marketing campaign prepare on December 29.
The president would lead the marketing campaign to Yola, Adamawa State, the house state of his predominant challenger, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, on Monday, January 4, 2027, whereas the grand finale of the marketing campaign can 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 occasion’s ladies management nationwide to galvanise the feminine voters, consolidate grassroots assist and spearhead an expansive mobilisation drive forward of the 2027 normal 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 ladies and underscored their indispensable function within the occasion’s electoral calculations.
Recognising ladies 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 power.
The President pledged his assist for legislative efforts to develop ladies’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 mentioned President Bola Tinubu was too ashamed to ask Nigerians for 4 extra years, the rationale 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 mentioned Tinubu was scared of being jeered and disgraced by Nigerians over his abysmal failures in workplace, therefore his cowardly determination to not go across the nation to marketing campaign, which is an aberration in a democracy.
This, nonetheless, the media workplace of Atiku has mentioned 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, said 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 pressured to chop meals, postpone medical care and watch their earnings lose worth earlier than they get residence.
“Now he needs 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 executed to make meals reasonably priced. Let him inform pensioners why they can not afford their medicines. Let him clarify to younger Nigerians why years of examine and onerous work have nonetheless not introduced them respectable jobs.
“Tinubu says American collectors can not wait. Nigerians can not wait both. They have payments to pay, kids to feed and lives to rebuild. They deserve a President who treats their struggling with the identical urgency he provides collectors and traders.
“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 mentioned President Bola Tinubu was scared of being jeered and disgraced by Nigerians over his abysmal failures in workplace, therefore his cowardly determination 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 mentioned indicated a critical state of confabulation, disorientation and disconnection from actuality underscoring his unfitness to manipulate.
In an announcement by the Director of Strategic (*12*) of Makinde and Daura Presidential Campaign, Richard Ihediwa, mentioned the marketing campaign thought-about Tinubu’s determination to not accompany the “Nebuchadnezzar Coalition” to each state of the federation as a determined try to 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 mentioned the choice not solely constituted a critical affront to the Nigerian voters, but in addition made a caricature of democratic ethos.
“Mr. President’s determination 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 determination to not marketing campaign across the nation additionally reinforces public apprehension that the All Progressives Congress (APC) shouldn’t be prepared for a free, honest and credible election however plotting to bypass and compromise the method towards 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 mentioned 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 mentioned, ‘’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 facet have been Bola Tinubu, Chief Bisi Akande, Aremo Olusegun Osoba, Otunba Niyi Adebayo and different distinguished AD leaders.
‘’On the ACD/PDP breakaway facet 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 towards President Olusegun Obasanjo’s third-term ambition.
The Atiku media workplace additional mentioned it was a coalition of political pursuits, not a charity established by Tinubu to accommodate Atiku.
Accordingly, the Atiku media workplace mentioned, “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 mentioned, ‘’Akande additionally disclosed that the understanding was for Atiku to emerge because the presidential candidate, with Tinubu thought-about 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-about 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 fashioned. Tinubu didn’t manufacture Atiku’s political relevance.
‘’Shettima also needs to keep in mind 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 to ridicule Atiku by evaluating him with Abraham Lincoln and Raila Odinga, what precisely is his level?”
