The Director-General of the All Progressives Congress Presidential Campaign Council, Senator Abdulaziz Yari, has dismissed the chances of opposition presidential candidates Peter Obi and Atiku Abubakar of defeating President Bola Tinubu in the 2027 election, as he announced October 24 for the commencement of the President’s re-election campaign in Kaduna State.
Yari disclosed this on Friday after briefing Tinubu at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, on preparations for the forthcoming campaign.
He said the President had invited him to discuss the council’s level of preparedness and the proposed timetable for visits to states during the campaign.
According to Yari, the campaign council’s inaugural meeting is scheduled for October 14 at the State House Banquet Hall, while the nationwide mobilisation will begin with the flag-off in Kaduna 10 days later.
“By God’s grace, his team, I, and Mr President himself, we have agreed on how it’s going to be done,” Yari said.
He added, “We have put forward a proposal. The inaugural meeting of the campaign council is going to be done on the 14th of this month, and by God’s grace, on the 24th of October, we’re going to do our flag-off campaign in Kaduna.”
The former Zamfara State governor said the President had also approved the proposed itinerary for the campaign, with Port Harcourt, Rivers State, and Maiduguri, Borno State, scheduled as the next destinations after Kaduna.
He, however, said the complete timetable would be made public after the inauguration of the campaign council.
Yari expressed confidence in Tinubu’s chances in the 2027 election, arguing that a presidential candidate would struggle to win without substantial political support in both northern and southern Nigeria.
He questioned the geographical reach of Obi, the presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress, and Atiku, who is identified in the report as the presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress.
“Can the ADC candidate today in the southern part of the country beat his chest and say he has control of one state in the South? And I don’t think Peter Obi, who used to be my colleague, can beat his chest. Can he say he has control of one state in northern Nigeria?” he asked.
Yari maintained that support concentrated in one part of the country would not be sufficient to secure victory in a presidential election.
“So this calculation shows us that even if you have control of 80 per cent of the South, if you don’t have anything in the North, you cannot make it. If you have 80 per cent of control of the North, if you don’t have any state in the South, you can’t make it, and that’s what it is,” he said.
To support his argument, Yari cited the late former President Muhammadu Buhari, claiming that despite his strong political base in the North, he struggled to secure sufficient support in the South.
He contrasted Buhari’s electoral experience with what he described as Tinubu’s broader political reach across the country.
According to him, the President has support in more than 10 states in the South and over 10 states in the North.
“This is calculation, it is not rocket science,” Yari said.
The APC campaign chief also defended Tinubu’s performance in office, claiming that the President had improved the situation he inherited and that his administration would continue its policies.
“He has turned around the situation that he met on ground, and the economy is moving,” he said.
Yari added, “We are not promising. We are doing it, and we are going to continue.”
Tinubu appointed Yari as Director-General of the APC Presidential Campaign Council on August 22, 2026, while Imo State Governor Hope Uzodimma was named secretary of the council.
The President chairs the campaign council, with Vice President Kashim Shettima and APC National Chairman Nentawe Yilwatda serving as vice chairmen.
The Independent National Electoral Commission has scheduled the presidential and National Assembly elections for January 16, 2027. According to the commission’s timetable, campaigns are permitted from August 19, 2026, until January 15, 2027.
