Tinubu Pulls Back APC Campaign Council List, Omits Kalu, Keyamo, Lalong

President Bola Tinubu has reportedly ordered the dissolution and reconstitution of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential Campaign Council for the 2027 general elections.

This is understood to have followed controversy that has welcomed the initial roaster released by the Presidency on Saturday.

TheWill quoted Tinubu as giving the directive following concerns from senior members of the ruling party that the composition failed to adequately accommodate key stakeholders and did not sufficiently reflect the hierarchy, geographical spread and political structure of the party.

Sources said the President ordered the Presidency and the leadership of the National Assembly and the National Working Committee (NWC) of the APC to withdraw and review the initial composition and address the identified gaps before any new list is released.

Sources said Tinubu was embarrassed by the lapses uncovered in the list and was particularly concerned about the need for a campaign structure capable of bringing together the major stakeholders and political actors of the party ahead of the 2027 presidential election.

A source said: “The President was surprised and shocked that limited input from key and experienced people of the party was taken in the final composition of the campaign council.

The first campaign list, which will be led by former Zamfara State Governor, Senator Abdul’aziz Yari as Director-General, drew the party’s attention to the non-inclusion of some prominent APC members who are seen as major political stakeholders in their states and zones.

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One of the major issues raised was the exclusion of the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Benjamin Kalu.

In the first arrangement, the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, was appointed a Deputy Director-General for the Southern campaign, together with Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas, and Yobe State Governor, Mai Mala Buni, while Senate Leader, Opeyemi Bamidele, and Deputy Senate President, Jibril Barau, were given coordinating roles.

The APC stakeholders argued that the designation appeared to place the Senate President in a campaign structure with or below other National Assembly officials who normally occupy different positions in the constitutional hierarchy.

Sources told the publication that the new arrangement would have to rectify the perceived imbalance and ensure proper integration of the leadership of the National Assembly into the campaign hierarchy.

Also absent from the initial list is the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development Festus Keyamo (SAN) who was a prominent spokesman and Director of Public Affairs in the APCs 2023 presidential campaign.

The controversy also validates a report by TheWill earlier published on prominent APC members with direct presidential campaign management experience that was not part of the initial roaster.

They are former Governor of Plateau State, Simon Lalong, who was Director-General of the APC Presidential Campaign Council for the 2023 election, Festus Keyamo, senior advocate and former prosecutor with the EFCC, who was one of the most visible persons who spoke for the campaign; and National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, who was Director of Stakeholders Relations in the 2023 structure.

The initial council did not include the immediate past Governor of Kogi State, Yahaya Bello, who was the National Youth Coordinator during the 2023 campaign.

Other notable absentees include former Ogun State Governors, Gbenga Daniel and Ibikunle Amosun and former Edo State governorship candidate, Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu.

The exclusion of the governor of Edo State, Monday Okpebholo, has also emerged as a major concern. Okpebholo has emerged as a major political voice in the APC’s mobilization for the re-election of Tinubu and is seen as a key part of the party’s growing political clout in the South-South.

However, the decision to review the campaign list has not shown any sign of Tinubu pulling back the appointment of Yari as Director-General.