Tinubu 2027 campaign comes under scrutiny as Senator Ali Ndume urges the President to leave the APC campaign council to party leaders
Senator Ali Ndume, representing Borno South in the National Assembly, on Wednesday, August 26, 2026, urged President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to relinquish the chairmanship of the All Progressives Congress Presidential Campaign Council for the 2027 election, arguing that the party structure and state governors should lead the re-election campaign.
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Ndume made the recommendation during an interview on ARISE Television’s Prime Time, where he questioned the logic of having the presidential candidate personally head the political machinery campaigning for his return to office.
“If I had the ear of Mr President, he does not need to be the Presidential Campaign Council chairman. What is the party doing?” Ndume said.
The senator argued that Tinubu should be regarded as the political “product” being presented to voters, while the All Progressives Congress should provide the organisational machinery needed to sell that record and secure victory at the polls.
Ndume’s intervention comes days after Tinubu formally constituted the APC Presidential Campaign Council for the 2027 presidential election.
The structure announced on August 22 places Tinubu as chairman, with Vice-President Kashim Shettima as Vice-Chairman I and APC National Chairman Professor Nentawe Yilwatda as Vice-Chairman II.
Former Zamfara State Governor Senator Abdulaziz Yari was appointed Director-General, while Imo State Governor Hope Uzodimma was named secretary.
The council’s composition is extensive, with responsibilities divided across mobilisation, finance, logistics, grassroots engagement, media, election planning and other areas. Ogun State Governor Dapo Abiodun, for example, was appointed Director of Fundraising, while several serving governors and senior party figures were given campaign roles.
Ndume nevertheless believes the President should maintain a clearer distinction between governing the country and directing the party’s campaign operation.
His proposed alternative would place greater responsibility on governors, who would lead the presidential campaign in their respective states, with a central coordinating structure bringing their efforts together.
“The governors of every state should head the presidential campaign in their respective states, and there should be a coordinating team to coordinate them,” Ndume said.
The proposal would effectively turn the APC’s governors into the principal campaign commanders at state level, while allowing the party’s national leadership to coordinate the broader presidential effort.
Ndume’s criticism is significant because the campaign council was designed precisely to distribute responsibilities among senior APC figures.
The council already gives Yari operational leadership as Director-General, while Yilwatda, Shettima and Uzodimma hold senior positions alongside the President.
The senator’s argument is therefore less about whether Tinubu should campaign for another term and more about who should carry the institutional responsibility for that campaign.
Tinubu’s decision to chair the council also places him at the centre of a political operation that will run alongside the responsibilities of his office as President.
Ndume’s position is that the APC should absorb more of that burden through its formal structures.
The issue has emerged as preparations for the 2027 election gather pace.
The APC has already begun organising its campaign hierarchy, while opposition parties and political figures are also positioning themselves ahead of the presidential contest.
Ndume has recently used the campaign council debate to raise wider concerns about the quality of political and administrative advice available to Tinubu.
In a separate interview, he accused what he described as “kakistocrats” of dominating the Presidency and argued that insufficiently capable officials could continue to expose the administration to avoidable embarrassment.
That broader criticism gives his latest intervention additional political weight, although it remains his personal assessment rather than an indication of a change in the APC’s officially announced campaign structure.
For now, Tinubu remains the council’s chairman, and there has been no indication from the Presidency or the APC that the arrangement announced on August 22 will be altered.
Ndume’s proposal nevertheless opens a significant question about the shape of the coming campaign: whether the 2027 contest should be driven principally by the President himself or by the party machinery seeking to return him to office.
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As the election approaches, that distinction could become increasingly important, particularly for a governing party seeking to demonstrate that its political organisation extends beyond the personality of its candidate.
