President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has approved the proposed campaign timetable of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential Campaign Council (PCC), outlining a comprehensive schedule of political engagements beginning in Kaduna State to mobilise support for the party ahead of the 2027 general elections.
The Director-General of the APC Presidential Campaign Council, Senator Abdulaziz Yari, disclosed this on Friday while briefing State House Correspondents after a meeting with President Tinubu at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
Senator Yari announced that the council would hold its inaugural meeting on Wednesday, October 14, 2026, at the State House Banquet Hall, Abuja, ahead of the official flag-off of the party’s presidential campaign in Kaduna on October 24.
He explained that the meeting with the President focused on reviewing preparations for the campaign and securing approval for the proposed timetable and planned visits across the country.
“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,” he stated.
The former Zamfara State Governor disclosed that the campaign would move from Kaduna to Port Harcourt, Rivers State, and subsequently to Maiduguri, Borno State, adding that details of other scheduled engagements would be made public after the council’s inauguration.
He expressed confidence in the council’s readiness to commence its nationwide activities, assuring that the approved arrangements would provide a coordinated framework for the party’s campaign.
Speaking on the electoral prospects of former Vice President and African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar and the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) presidential candidate and former Anambra State Governor Peter Obi, Senator Yari maintained that President Tinubu’s political influence across northern and southern Nigeria gave the APC a significant advantage ahead of the 2027 general elections.
“I mean, they cannot bring him down. Let me give you one scenario. If you don’t know, can you say that the ADC candidate today in the southern part of the country can 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 a state control one in northern Nigeria?
So this calculation shows us that even if you have control of 80% of the south, if you don’t have anything in the north, you cannot make it. If you have 80% of control of the north, if you don’t have any state in the south, you make it, and that’s what it is. “He said.
The PCC Chairman argued that securing the presidency required substantial political support across both regions, insisting that influence in one part of the country would be insufficient without a corresponding presence in the other.
Drawing from Nigeria’s electoral history, Yari cited the experience of former President Muhammadu Buhari, whose considerable political following in the North, he noted, did not translate into presidential victory until he secured broader support.
“Look at Buhari of blessed memory. He had control of over 70% at that time, over 11 states in the North, and had no control of any in the South. He couldn’t make it all the way. And today, I’m sure Aswaju has control of more than 10 states in the south, in the conservative estimate, more than 10 states in the south, and I believe he has control of more than 10 states in the north,” he said.
The APC campaign chief highlighted that President Tinubu currently commands political influence in more than ten states in each region, describing the spread of support as an important consideration in the party’s electoral calculations.
“This is calculation; it is not rocket science. President Bola Tinubu, since the time he assumed office, has turned around the situation that he met on the ground; still, the economy is moving. So I think we have done enough that we can tell our opponents about what we did,” he said.
On the performance of the Tinubu administration, Senator Yari maintained that the President had made significant progress in addressing economic challenges inherited upon assuming office, expressing confidence that the administration’s policies and achievements would feature prominently in the party’s campaign engagements.
“We are not promising. We are doing it, and we are going to continue.” Senator Yari said.
He emphasised that the APC would present its record of governance to Nigerians as evidence of its commitment to national development, rather than relying solely on fresh campaign promises.
“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,” Senator Yari declared.
