Niger State Governor, Umar Bago, has publicly proclaimed himself the self-appointed Director General of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s 2027 re-election campaign, announcing Niger State as the campaign’s headquarters.
Speaking during an event in Minna, Bago reaffirmed his unwavering loyalty to the president and called on members of the All Progressives Congress (APC), especially from the northern region, to maintain party unity and rally behind Tinubu’s administration.
“I’m now the self-imposed Director General of the Tinubu campaign for 2027, and Niger State is the campaign headquarters for Asiwaju 2027,” Bago declared. “We’re Nigerians and we love Nigeria. There’s an unwritten understanding in this country for power to revolve between the north and the south, and this has brought relative peace to the nation.”
The governor aimed at certain northern APC members whom he accused of attempting to sabotage the current government, despite having enjoyed positions and privileges under the party during former President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration.
“Some of you were governors, ministers, advisers, commissioners and enjoyed eight years in power. Now you’re on sabbatical, and you want to distort a government we are trying to support,” he said.
Defending Tinubu’s performance, Bago stressed that many of Nigeria’s pressing problems were inherited and were now being addressed by the administration.
“You talk about bad roads—Asiwaju didn’t make the bad roads, he inherited them. I didn’t make them either, but we’re fixing them. He didn’t spoil your schools; he’s fixing them, just like I am,” the governor stated.
Bago further urged party critics to appreciate the seamless APC-to-APC transition instead of using inherited problems as campaign ammunition against the president.
“We know those who made the economy crumble. In this state, I know what I inherited, but I have not probed anybody. Please, let sleeping dogs lie, but if you dare me, I will show you,” he warned.
