Tinubu set to launch 2027 re-election campaign in Kaduna

President Bola Tinubu will officially launch his 2027 re-election campaign in Kaduna on October 24, the Director-General of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential Campaign Council, Senator Abdulaziz Yari, has announced.

Yari disclosed this on Friday after briefing the President at the State House, Abuja, on preparations for the campaign and the proposed timetable for visits to states across the country.

The former Zamfara state governor said Tinubu had requested an update on the council’s preparations and discussions on the proposed schedule for the President’s campaign visits ahead of the 2027 general elections.

According to Yari, the campaign council’s inaugural meeting would hold on October 14 at the State House Banquet Hall, Abuja, before the official campaign flag-off in Kaduna 10 days later.

He expressed confidence that the council would be ready to commence activities as scheduled, adding that the President had approved the proposed arrangements.

“By God’s grace, his team, I, and Mr President himself, we have agreed on how it’s going to be done,” Yari said.

He added that the council had submitted a proposal outlining the campaign’s activities, including the President’s visits to states across the country.

“We have put forward a proposal. The inaugural meeting of the campaign council is going to be done on the 14th of this month, and by God’s grace, on the 24th of October, we’re going to do our flag-off campaign in Kaduna,” he said.

Yari said the campaign team would begin its nationwide activities immediately after the flag-off, describing the preparations as a coordinated effort involving the President and members of the council.

Port Harcourt, Maiduguri next on campaign itinerary

Yari disclosed that Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital, would be the next destination after Kaduna, followed by Maiduguri, the Borno State capital.

He, however, said the full timetable for the campaign visits would be released after the inauguration of the Presidential Campaign Council.

“We have the timetable, and we are going to make it available after the inauguration. But this has all been understood and approved by the team of Mr President and I,” he said.

The proposed visits are expected to form part of the APC’s efforts to mobilise support for Tinubu’s second-term bid across the country’s geopolitical zones.

Although Yari did not provide details of the activities planned for each state, he said the schedule had received the President’s approval.

Yari expresses confidence in Tinubu’s re-election chances

The APC campaign council director-general also expressed confidence in Tinubu’s chances of winning the 2027 presidential election, arguing that the President’s political strength across northern and southern Nigeria would give him an advantage over his challengers.

Responding to questions about the opposition, including former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and former Anambra State Governor Peter Obi, Yari argued that Tinubu could not easily be defeated, citing what he described as the President’s past support for the two politicians.

He invoked religious belief to support his position, saying that the same God who had used Tinubu to help others in the past would not necessarily allow them to bring him down.

“We are talking of the President of the country, and this President, who, by God’s grace, Almighty God used him to support Atiku some time back, and at the same time to support Peter Obi,” he said.

Yari added, “So if Allah uses me to support you, there is no way Allah will use you to bring me down.”

His comments came as political parties and their candidates continued preparations for the 2027 general elections.

Why northern and southern support matters, Yari explains

The APC chieftain argued that a presidential candidate needed a broad geographical base to secure victory, insisting that support concentrated in only one part of the country would not be sufficient.

He challenged opposition candidates to demonstrate their level of control in states across the North and South, arguing that winning a substantial share of votes in one region would not guarantee victory without support from the other.

“Can the ADC candidate today in the southern part of the country beat his chest and say he has control of one state in the South? And I don’t think Peter Obi, who used to be my colleague, can beat his chest. Can he say he has control of one state in northern Nigeria?” Yari asked.

He maintained that even a candidate with as much as 80 per cent support in the South would struggle to win without a significant presence in the North. He made the same argument about a candidate who enjoyed overwhelming support in the North but lacked a political foothold in the South.

According to him, the distribution of political support across the country would be a major factor in determining the outcome of the presidential election.

Yari cited the late former President Muhammadu Buhari as an example, claiming that Buhari enjoyed considerable support across northern states but struggled to secure the presidency in an earlier electoral contest because of his limited support in the South.

He contrasted that with Tinubu’s position, claiming that the incumbent had support in more than 10 states in the South and more than 10 states in the North.

“This is calculation, it is not rocket science,” he said.

However, Yari’s assessment represents the APC campaign leadership’s position on the race, with the actual strength of the candidates to be determined by voters at the polls.

APC says Tinubu’s achievements will feature in campaign

Yari also defended the Tinubu administration’s record, saying the APC would focus on what it considered the President’s achievements rather than relying solely on campaign promises.

He claimed that the administration had improved the situation it inherited and that the economy was moving in the right direction.

According to him, the government would use its record in office to make its case to Nigerians as the campaign progresses.

“So I think we have done enough that we can tell our opponents about what we did. We are not promising. We are doing it, and we are going to continue,” he said.

The comments suggest that the administration’s policies and economic performance will be central to the APC’s efforts to persuade voters to give Tinubu another four-year term.

The campaign will also provide an opportunity for opposition parties to challenge the government’s record and present their own proposals to the electorate.

INEC fixes January 16 for presidential election

Tinubu appointed Yari as Director-General of the APC Presidential Campaign Council on August 22, 2026, while Imo State Governor Hope Uzodimma was named secretary.

The President chairs the council, with Vice President Kashim Shettima and APC National Chairman Nentawe Yilwatda serving as vice chairmen.

The Independent National Electoral Commission has fixed January 16, 2027, for the presidential and National Assembly elections.

Under INEC’s timetable, campaigns commenced on August 19, 2026, and are scheduled to end on January 15, 2027, a day before the elections.

The report identified Atiku Abubakar as the presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress, with former Rivers State Governor Rotimi Amaechi as his running mate. Obi, a former Anambra State governor, is contesting under the Nigeria Democratic Congress.

With the APC preparing to launch its campaign in Kaduna, the coming months are expected to feature increased political mobilisation, public engagements and efforts by candidates to convince Nigerians of their suitability for the presidency.