President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Vice President Kashim Shettima and First Lady Senator Oluremi Tinubu are currently attending the inauguration of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential Campaign Council for the 2027 general elections at the State House Banquet Hall, Abuja.

The event, which Is ongoing, is also drawing prominent political figures from outside the ruling party, including the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Chief Nyesom Wike; Anambra State Governor, Professor Charles Soludo; and his Osun State counterpart, Ademola Adeleke, who have been assigned roles in the campaign council.

Proceedings began at 2:41 p.m. on Wednesday, after President Tinubu and Vice President Shettima arrived and the national anthem was rendered.

Among the dignitaries currently seated at the venue are Senate President Godswill Akpabio; Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas; APC National Chairman, Professor Nentawe Yilwatda; and Chairman of the Progressive Governors’ Forum (PGF) and Imo State Governor, Hope Uzodimma.

Also attending are governors elected on the APC platform, senators, members of the House of Representatives, ministers, senior government officials and other prominent stakeholders of the ruling party.

The Director-General of the Presidential Campaign Council and former Zamfara State Governor, Senator Abdulaziz Yari, is equally in attendance.

According to the programme of events, the APC National Chairman, Yilwatda, is scheduled to deliver the opening remarks, while Uzodimma will present the keynote address.

Akpabio and Abbas are expected to deliver goodwill messages, after which Vice President Shettima will address the gathering.

President Tinubu is subsequently expected to deliver his address and formally inaugurate the Presidential Campaign Council, setting in motion the party’s organisational machinery for the 2027 presidential election.

The ceremony will also feature an acceptance speech by Yari, while the APC National Secretary, Senator Surajudeen Basiru, is scheduled to propose the vote of thanks.

Wednesday’s inauguration is taking place 10 days before the formal flag-off of the APC presidential campaign, scheduled for October 24 in Kaduna State.

Yari announced the campaign timetable on October 9 after briefing President Tinubu at the Presidential Villa in Abuja.

According to him, the campaign train will move from Kaduna to Port Harcourt, Rivers State, and subsequently Maiduguri, Borno State, as the ruling party intensifies preparations for the 2027 polls.

The APC announced the composition of the campaign council on August 22 in a statement from the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga.

Under the arrangement, President Tinubu chairs the council, with Vice President Shettima serving as vice chairman.

Yari was appointed Director-General, while Uzodimma serves as secretary. The APC National Chairman, Yilwatda, is an additional vice chairman.

Akpabio, Abbas and Yobe State Governor Mai Mala Buni were also named deputy directors-general.

Other key appointments include former Edo State Governor Adams Oshiomhole as Deputy Director-General for Mobilisation; the President’s Chief of Staff, Femi Gbajabiamila, as Deputy Director-General for Administration; and James Faleke as Deputy Director-General for Election Planning

The Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, is heading the council’s Media and Strategic Communications Committee.

The inauguration follows President Tinubu’s emergence as the APC presidential candidate on May 24, 2026, after securing 10.9 million votes in the party’s direct presidential primary conducted across 8,809 wards nationwide under the amended Electoral Act 2026.

The ongoing gathering brings together the party’s political leadership, elected officials, and campaign strategists as the APC prepares to formally launch its nationwide re-election campaign later this month. (The Nation)