President’s Choice of 12 States for Personal Campaign Signals Battlegrounds for 2027

• APC releases nationwide schedule for rally 

•Tinubu wants another term, but ashamed to face the people, Atiku mocks president 

•He’s scared to face the electorate, says Makinde/Daura Campaign Organisation

Chuks Okocha, Adedayo Akinwale in Abuja and Jonathan Eze in Lagos

The decision by President Bola Tinubu to personally lead the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential campaign in 12 strategically selected states ahead of the January 16, 2027 election might have inadvertently revealed where the ruling party expects some of its fiercest electoral contests.

Beyond the appearances themselves, the choices offer an interesting insight into the president’s electoral calculations and the states considered critical to Tinubu’s re-election bid.

Of the 36 states of the federation, Tinubu has elected to personally 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 campaign machinery and other party leaders.

Although the president explained at Wednesday’s inauguration of his Presidential Campaign Council that governance must not suffer on account of electioneering, the states selected for his personal appearances appear anything but accidental.

Indeed, a closer examination of the results of the 2023 presidential election offers perhaps the clearest explanation for the choice.

Of the 12 states, Tinubu won only three — Rivers, Oyo and Borno — in the last presidential election. He lost the remaining nine to his principal opponents, namely Atiku Abubakar, Peter Obi and Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso.

Instructively, Atiku defeated him in Kaduna, Bauchi, Sokoto and Adamawa, while Obi won Plateau, Enugu, Delta and Lagos. Kwankwaso, on his part, carried Kano, delivering nearly one million votes under the platform of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP).

Put differently, 75 per cent of Tinubu’s proposed personal campaign appearances will take place in states where he suffered electoral defeats in 2023. This is hardly a coincidence that can be dismissed in the circumstances.

Take Kaduna, for example. The decision to formally flag off the campaign in the state on October 24 is particularly instructive. Atiku polled 554,360 votes there in 2023 against Tinubu’s 399,293, despite the APC controlling the state government.

With Atiku again seeking the presidency, this time on the platform of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Kaduna represents an important electoral contest, particularly given its political significance in the North-west.

The inclusion of Kano is perhaps even more revealing. In 2023, Kwankwaso secured 997,279 votes against Tinubu’s 517,341. But the political circumstances have since changed, with Kwankwaso now running alongside Obi on the platform of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC).

Thus, Kano is no longer merely about reversing a previous electoral defeat. It is also about confronting the combined political ambitions of two former presidential candidates, one of whom demonstrated considerable electoral strength in the state.

Sokoto presents a different calculation. Atiku defeated Tinubu there by just 3,235 votes in 2023, making it one of the closest contests between both candidates. Such a narrow margin naturally makes the state an interesting electoral territory for both parties.

Similarly, Adamawa, Atiku’s home state, where the former vice-president secured 417,611 votes against Tinubu’s 182,881, offers the APC another opportunity to test its political strength in an established opposition stronghold.

Bauchi also fits into this northern calculation, especially with the changing political alliances ahead of the 2027 contest.

In the South-east, the decision to visit Enugu is equally significant. Tinubu recorded a mere 4,772 votes in the state in 2023, compared with Obi’s 428,640. The difference was staggering and underscored the depth of APC’s electoral difficulties in that part of the country.

Enugu, therefore, presents not merely an opportunity to seek votes but also a chance for the president to make a direct appeal to an electorate that overwhelmingly rejected his candidacy four years earlier.

Plateau and Delta, which Obi also won in 2023, fall within the same broad electoral consideration, although their political circumstances and voting patterns differ considerably.

Then comes Lagos, arguably the most symbolic of the 12 states.

For a politician whose political influence has been closely associated with Lagos for decades, losing the state to Obi in 2023 was one of the election’s notable developments. Obi polled 582,454 votes against Tinubu’s 572,606, a difference of just 9,848 votes.

That Tinubu has chosen Lagos for the grand finale of his campaign on January 9, 2027, could therefore carry significance beyond the customary symbolism of ending a national campaign on familiar political territory.

It offers the APC an opportunity to demonstrate the strength of its organisation in a state that remains central to Tinubu’s political history.

However, the inclusion of Rivers, Oyo and Borno, which he won in 2023, suggests that the campaign strategy is not entirely about recovering lost ground.

Rivers remains politically important because of the influence of the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, and the state’s complicated political alignments.

Oyo has assumed additional significance with Governor Seyi Makinde’s presidential ambition, while Borno remains the political base of Vice-President Kashim Shettima.

These three states may consequently be seen as territories where the president considers reinforcement of existing support just as important as the pursuit of new votes elsewhere.

Taken together, the 12-state itinerary suggests a deliberate attempt to balance electoral recovery with political consolidation. Seven of the states are in the North, while five are in the South, ensuring that the president’s personal appearances cut across all six geopolitical zones.

Of course, the 2023 results cannot automatically determine the outcome of the 2027 election. Political alliances have changed, candidates have switched platforms, and the electorate will be judging Tinubu not merely as a candidate but as an incumbent with a record to defend.

Nevertheless, the campaign timetable has provided an early glimpse into the geographical priorities of the ruling party.

While the APC will campaign nationwide, the president’s decision to personally appear in these 12 states suggests that some electoral contests are receiving particular attention.

And if the itinerary is anything to go by, the battle for 2027 may already have its first identified battlegrounds — not necessarily by the opposition’s declaration, but by the president’s own campaign choices.

Meanwhile, the APC has released its nationwide campaign rally schedule for the 2027 presidential election covering 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

According to the timetable sighted yesterday, Tinubu is expected to lead the campaign for his re-election in 12 different states, including Kaduna, where the ruling party would officially flag-off the campaign on October 24, 2026.

This was as the presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Atiku Abubakar, has said Tinubu was too ashamed to ask Nigerians for four more years, the reason he served a notice he would not go round the country to campaign.

At the same time, the Makinde/Daura Presidential Campaign Organisation (MDPCO), has also said Tinubu was scared of being jeered and disgraced by Nigerians over his abysmal failures in office, hence his cowardly decision not to go around the country to campaign.

In another development, Atiku’s Media Office has said the attempt by Vice President Kashim Shettima to portray him  as a beneficiary of Bola Tinubu’s political generosity in 2007 was a distortion of history that should not go unchallenged.

APC Releases Nationwide Schedule for Rally, Tinubu Leads Campaign in 12 States

The APC has released its nationwide campaign rally schedule for the 2027 presidential election covering 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

According to the timetable sighted yesterday, Tinubu is expected to lead the campaign for his re-election in 12 different states, including Kaduna, where the ruling party would officially flag-off the campaign on October 24, 2026.

President Bola Tinubu had Wednesday during the inauguration of the APC Presidential Campaign Council (PCC) held at the Presidential Villa hinted that he won’t be available for all the campaign because he doesn’t want to abandon governance.

The campaign is scheduled to run from  October 2026 through early January 2027, with Lagos hosting the major closing rally on 9th January 2027.

The schedule showed that President Tinubu would also lead the Port Harcourt campaign scheduled to take place on November 7.

He would also be on  the campaign train to Plateau State on November 14, and would be in action in Ibadan, Oyo State on November 21.

Similarly, he would be available to captain the campaign train in Borno State on November 25, and he would also be on ground in Enugu on November 28.

The president is also expected to put on his campaign amour in Sokoto State on December 5, and in Asaba, Delta State  on December 12.

Continuing,Tinubu would lead the campaign train to Kano, the votes hub on December 17, while Bauchi State would play host to the APC campaign train on December 29.

The president would lead the campaign to Yola, Adamawa State, the home state of his main challenger, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, on  Monday, January 4, 2027, while the grand finale of the campaign would be held in Lagos State on  Saturday, January 9, 2027.

Other campaign schedules include Owerri, Imo – 30th December; Akure, Ondo state – 11th November; Bauchi – 29th November; Katsina – 2nd December; Uyo,  Akwa Ibom – 18th November; Makurdi, Benue State -30th November.

Others are Abeokuta, Ogun State, 3rd December; Awka, Anambra state -19th November; Gombe state, 3rd November;  Kebbi state -17th November; Edo state – 12th November, Kwara state -10th December.

Also, Osun State will host the 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 party’s women leadership nationwide to galvanise the female electorate, consolidate grassroots support and spearhead an expansive mobilisation drive ahead of the 2027 general election.

The president gave the directive on Wednesday afternoon at the inauguration of the APC Presidential Campaign Council at the Banquet Hall of the Presidential Villa, Abuja, where he extolled the political significance of women and underscored their indispensable role in the party’s electoral calculations.

Recognising women as an influential constituency whose organisational dexterity, numerical strength and penetration of grassroots communities could substantially shape the electoral landscape, Tinubu charged them to convert their longstanding commitment to the APC into a formidable and meticulously coordinated political force.

The President pledged his support for legislative efforts to expand women’s representation in elected offices, 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 said President Bola Tinubu was too ashamed to ask Nigerians for four more years, the reason he served a notice he would not go round the country to campaign.

Instead, he claimed that the president chose to send governors, ministers and defectors across the country to defend the hardship of the past three and a half.

Also, the Makinde/Daura Presidential Campaign Organisation (MDPCO), has corroborated this when it also said Tinubu was scared of being jeered and disgraced by Nigerians over his abysmal failures in office, hence his cowardly decision not to go around the country to campaign, which is an aberration in a democracy.

This, nonetheless, the media office of Atiku has said the attempt by Vice-President Kashim Shettima to portray Atiku  as a beneficiary of Tinubu’s political generosity in 2007 was a distortion of history that should not go unchallenged.

A statement by the Director of Strategic Communication of the ADC Presidential Campaign Council, Phrank Shaibu, stated that, “Tinubu says he may miss campaign rallies because Nigeria needs his attention. Where was that urgency when Nigerians pleaded for relief?

He has had three and a half years to govern. In that time, families have been forced to cut meals, postpone medical care and watch their earnings lose value before they get home.

“Now he wants another mandate. Before asking Nigerians for one, he must face them and account for the first term.

“Let him look a mother in the eye and explain what his government has done to make food affordable. Let him tell pensioners why they cannot afford their medicines. Let him explain to young Nigerians why years of study and hard work have still not brought them decent jobs.

“Tinubu says American creditors cannot wait. Nigerians cannot wait either. They have bills to pay, children to feed and lives to rebuild. They deserve a President who treats their suffering with the same urgency he gives creditors and investors.

“Instead, he is assembling a crowd of politicians to speak for him. He can fill every campaign stage in Nigeria. He cannot fill an empty pot with surrogates. He cannot send a politician into a market to persuade prices to fall.

“The people on his campaign council did not receive the mandate in 2023. Tinubu did. He made the promises. He took the decisions. He must 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 said President Bola Tinubu was scared of being jeered and disgraced by Nigerians over his abysmal failures in office, hence his cowardly decision not to go around the country to campaign.

Referring to himself as “Governor Tinubu” at the inauguration of his presidential campaign council, it said indicated a serious state of confabulation, disorientation and disconnection from reality underscoring his unfitness to govern.

In a statement by the Director of Strategic Communications of Makinde and Daura Presidential Campaign, Richard Ihediwa, said the campaign considered Tinubu’s decision not to accompany the “Nebuchadnezzar Coalition” to every state of the federation as a desperate attempt to evade public resentment, knowing that his government has renewed the “anger” of Nigerians, rather than their “hope” in the past three and a half years.

The Director of strategic communications further said the decision not only constituted a serious affront to the Nigerian electorate, but also made a caricature of democratic ethos.

“Mr. President’s decision and his confabulatory statement further confirmed fears by Nigerians that he is not fit to face the rigours of governing a nation like Nigeria.

“The decision not to campaign around the country also reinforces public apprehension that the All Progressives Congress (APC) is not ready for a free, fair and credible election but plotting to circumvent and compromise the process against the Will of the people.

 “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 said the attempt by Vice President Kashim Shettima to portray him  as a beneficiary of Bola Tinubu’s political generosity in 2007 was a distortion of history that should not go unchallenged.

In a a statement, the media office said, ‘’For Shettima’s education, the Action Congress (AC), on whose platform Atiku contested the 2007 presidential election, was not Tinubu’s personal 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 other political interests.

‘’On the AD side were Bola Tinubu, Chief Bisi Akande, Aremo Olusegun Osoba, Otunba Niyi Adebayo and other prominent AD leaders.

‘’On the ACD/PDP breakaway side were Atiku Abubakar, Chief Audu Ogbeh, Chief Tom Ikimi, Alhaji Lawal Kaita, Alhaji Bashir Dalhatu, Alhaji Abubakar Rimi and former Speaker Ghali Na’Abba, among others.’’

The statement claimed that those were political heavyweights who came together to build an alternative political platform in the aftermath of the struggle against President Olusegun Obasanjo’s third-term ambition.

The Atiku media office further said it was a coalition of political interests, not a charity established by Tinubu to accommodate Atiku.

Accordingly, the Atiku media office said, “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 office of the former vice president said, ‘’Akande also disclosed that the understanding was for Atiku to emerge as the presidential candidate, with Tinubu considered as his running mate. That proposal ultimately 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 considered for the position of running mate? The answer is simple: they were political partners, not landlord and tenant.

‘’Atiku was already Vice President of Nigeria, with an established national political structure and considerable political influence, long before the AC was formed. Tinubu did not manufacture Atiku’s political relevance.

‘’Shettima should also remember that Atiku fought attempts to exclude him from the 2007 presidential election all the way to the Supreme Court and prevailed. As for Shettima’s attempt to ridicule Atiku by comparing him with Abraham Lincoln and Raila Odinga, what exactly is his point?”