Chieftain of the All Progressive Congress (APC), Cletus Obun has admitted that the party may not have made its best choices in composing President Bola Tinubu’s 2027 presidential campaign council, while describing the appointment of Senator Abdulaziz Yari as director-general was deliberate and strategic.
Speaking in an interview with ARISE NEWS on Monday, Obun said the campaign council requires adjustments to ensure experienced politicians and effective mobilisers are properly positioned to deliver the All Progressives Congress’ campaign objectives ahead of the 2027 general election.
“But as an APC member, let me also say that we may not have made our best choices in the general composition. I thought they were going to talk about the general composition, what they call disconnected politicians. Yes, we may be reserving our best for the worst. But I can tell you that there are strategic errors as well in the main composition.”
He defended Yari’s appointment, arguing that the former Zamfara governor and serving senator has the political experience, networks and mobilisation capacity required for the role.
“In 2026, APC comes to set the pace and brings a grounded mobiliser like Yari. If you know his story in Zamfara State, you will understand that he is not just a roadside political actor. He’s been a governor. He’s now in the Senate.”
Obun pointed to Yari’s performance during the contest for the presidency of the Senate, saying. “In the last presidential, for the presidency of the Nigerian Senate, against all odds, he got over 40 senators on his side out of 109. He got over 40, even when it was clear that he ought not to.”
“That tells you the kind of tenacity, the kind of popularity, the kind of integrity, the kind of mobilising force he has across.”
He argued that Yari’s political base in the North-west could strengthen the party’s efforts to consolidate support in a region with a large voting population.
“And so putting him there, first of all, coming from the northwest, where bulk of the votes come from. Is it Kanu? Is it Sokoto? Is it Zamfara itself? Is it Jigawa? Look at that. That’s northwest, so if you bring him from the northwest, you’re already guaranteeing that most of the northwest votes and the states are going to come behind him.”
Obun further cited Yari’s political relationships and influence among senior politicians in the North-west. “So that galvanisation, that force, the respect it commands among these top-notch persons already guarantees that northwest APC will have a say.”
He maintained that Yari’s appointment was therefore not accidental but part of a calculated political strategy. “And so it was not just a fluke. It is not just a flip. It is deliberate. It is strategic for him to be there.”
However, while defending the choice of Yari, Obun criticised the wider composition of the campaign council and called for changes before the campaign machinery becomes fully operational. “You don’t bring your second 11 to parade. Maybe in football it can pass because you can use your second choice team to come and start a match and then come from behind to start coming to do what Nigeria is doing in the Dama Miracle. But this is not football of the 21st century.”
“We need to do something better and tinker with that composition because most members of the campaign council have no business being there. Some of them were put there on account of patronage.”
He also called for people who have been left out of the main campaign council to be included in subcommittees, arguing that the real campaign work would take place at that level. “Most of those who have been left out can be populated in the subcommittees. That is where the real work is.”
“There is no campaign council I’ve not belonged to since 2015 till date. There’s no campaign council I’ve not been in. This is the first time I’m not included in a campaign council.”
Obun said the new campaign structure should draw on the experience of politicians who participated in previous election campaigns.
“So I expect that most of those who had the exposure and experience in the last campaign, which was toxic because it was APC versus APC first before we now got to join others. So I would like to see Yari bring those who are experienced on the table and then compose, presently, the sub-committees and make inclusion.”
He also raised concerns about funding, recalling that some committees in the previous campaign allegedly struggled to operate because they lacked adequate financial support. “In the last council, for example, there was no funding because there was no love lost between the campaign team of Ashwaju and that of the sitting president at that time, who didn’t want him. So they clearly did not fund the committees.”
“None of the committees, at least I know of the campaign, at the media team, it was never funded. It took Bayo Onanuga, to even start supporting some of us, to even move around.”
“He had to do that at a personal level and this is not what we expect at this time.”
Beyond the composition of the council, Obun said the campaign should identify influential political actors across the country. “In each state and in each political zone, there are political actors you cannot ignore. There are some who are in parties that they don’t believe in. And there are some who have already declared their interest, even from other parties.”
He cited political figures in different regions as examples of people whose support could be harnessed by the campaign. “For instance, you get to a place like the Southeast. A soludo in Anambra state tells you about his support for the president. In the Southwest, just recently Oshun state, the governor wins election and his acceptance speech includes the fact that he’s going to support the president. So if you have these pockets of persons, what you should do is not too far.”
Obun ultimately urged Yari to prioritise experienced hands and broader inclusion as he begins work as director-general of the campaign council. “I would like to see Yari bring those who are experienced on the table and then compose, presently, the sub-committees and make inclusion.”
Erizia Rubyjeana
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