President Bola Tinubu has assigned prominent politicians from opposition parties to coordinate his re-election campaign in their respective states ahead of the 2027 general elections. The appointments include Federal Capital Territory Minister Nyesom Wike of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Anambra State Governor Chukwuma Soludo of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), and Osun State Governor Ademola Adeleke of the Accord Party. Under the revised All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential Campaign Council list announced on 13 October, Wike will coordinate the campaign in Rivers State and the FCT, Soludo in Anambra, and Adeleke in Osun.
Wike’s appointment formalises his support for Tinubu’s re-election while he remains a member of the PDP. The former Rivers State governor backed Tinubu during the political disagreements surrounding the 2023 presidential election and subsequently joined his administration as FCT minister. He has defended the cross-party arrangement, arguing that politicians outside the APC should be allowed to support the president if they believe in his performance. Wike also dismissed concerns that the arrangement would necessarily undermine opposition parties, saying politicians could support Tinubu at the presidential level while backing candidates from their own parties in governorship and legislative elections.
Soludo’s appointment places the Anambra governor in charge of coordinating Tinubu’s campaign in a state where he won a second term in November 2025 under APGA. The arrangement represents political cooperation between the president and a governor from another party, but it does not mean Soludo has defected to the APC or that APGA has merged with the ruling party. Questions remain about how his campaign responsibilities will operate alongside the APC’s existing structures in Anambra and how the governor will balance his party affiliation with his role in the president’s re-election effort.
Adeleke’s appointment has attracted additional attention because of an ongoing legal dispute over Accord’s presidential nomination for the 2027 election. The Federal High Court in Abuja had ordered the party and the Independent National Electoral Commission to recognise Gbenga Olawepo-Hashim as its presidential candidate after finding that he emerged from the party’s primary in May. Accord’s national chairman, Maxwell Mgbudem, subsequently appealed the judgment. Meanwhile, the party’s Board of Trustees endorsed Adeleke’s decision to support Tinubu, following a similar declaration by Accord’s legislative candidates in Osun. However, the endorsement does not by itself establish that the party has formally withdrawn Olawepo-Hashim’s candidacy or adopted Tinubu as its presidential candidate.
The expanded campaign council, headed by Tinubu, also includes Vice-President Kashim Shettima, APC National Chairman Nentawe Yilwatda, Director-General Abdulaziz Yari and other senior political figures. The inclusion of opposition politicians has drawn criticism from some opposition figures and APC members, who have questioned party loyalty, internal coordination and the implications for existing party structures. Former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar criticised the size and composition of the council, while ADC chieftain Dele Momodu questioned the political influence being extended to Wike, Soludo and Adeleke. Supporters of the arrangement, however, say it broadens the president’s political coalition beyond the APC. The appointments demonstrate growing cross-party alliances ahead of 2027, although questions remain about how the coordinators will work with local APC structures and how the arrangements will affect their respective parties.
