Senate President Godswill Akpabio has described the expanded All Progressives Congress Presidential Campaign Council as a sign that President Bola Tinubu could pursue a government of national unity if re-elected in 2027.
Akpabio made the remarks during Wednesday’s Senate plenary in Abuja, ahead of the inauguration of the APC’s presidential campaign council, which includes prominent politicians affiliated with opposition parties.
According to a report by Vanguard, the Senate president said the composition of the council reflected an unusual level of political inclusion in Nigeria’s democratic experience since the return to civilian rule in 1999.
“This is not just an inclusive government in terms of infrastructure, revenue allocation and reforms. It is also an inclusive government in terms of unity of purpose in democracy,” Akpabio said.
He added that the expanded campaign structure suggested that a second Tinubu administration could be built around cooperation among politicians from different political backgrounds.
“What we are going to witness is evidence that his second term is going to be a unity government, just like his campaign council is a unity campaign council made up of almost all the political parties in the country,” the Senate president said.
Akpabio also welcomed the participation of Anambra State Governor Chukwuma Soludo, Osun State Governor Ademola Adeleke and Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, in the campaign structure.
The three politicians belong to different political parties. Soludo is a member of the All Progressives Grand Alliance, Adeleke belongs to the Accord Party, while Wike is a member of the Peoples Democratic Party.
Their inclusion in the APC campaign council has attracted attention because of their political affiliations and the positions assigned to them in the ruling party’s re-election campaign.
According to the revised list published by the APC, Wike will coordinate the campaign in Rivers State and the FCT, while Soludo and Adeleke will oversee campaign activities in Anambra and Osun states, respectively.
The appointments were confirmed in reports by PUNCH and Premium Times following the release of the updated campaign council membership on Tuesday.
Akpabio expressed confidence that the involvement of politicians with different professional and political backgrounds could contribute ideas to national development.
Referring to Soludo, a professor and former governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, the Senate president said his experience could be useful to the country.
“I can imagine how even a professor and former governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Prof. Soludo, will add his ideas to the next administration so that Nigeria will be better. This is the way Nigeria should be,” Akpabio said, according to Vanguard.
Earlier during the plenary, Senate Leader Opeyemi Bamidele had informed lawmakers about the planned inauguration of the campaign council and the participation of senators in the event.
Bamidele described the expanded political alliance as a broad coalition involving figures from different parties, saying it could promote inclusive governance and strengthen the ruling party’s preparations for the 2027 general election.
“My point, Mr President, is that in this country, in the best interests of the Nigerian people, a rainbow coalition indeed is on the move and very much on course,” Bamidele said, according to Vanguard.
He added that the campaign should focus on ideas and democratic values rather than political differences.
The APC had announced that Tinubu would chair the presidential campaign council, with Vice-President Kashim Shettima and the party’s National Chairman, Professor Nentawe Yilwatda, serving as first and second vice-chairmen, respectively.
Former Zamfara State Governor Abdulaziz Yari was named Director-General of the council, while Imo State Governor Hope Uzodimma was appointed secretary.
Akpabio, Speaker of the House of Representatives Tajudeen Abbas and Kwara State Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq were also listed among the council’s senior leadership.
Other appointments cover election planning, mobilisation, administration, logistics, fundraising, media, infrastructure and stakeholder engagement, reflecting the campaign’s extensive organisational structure.
The APC scheduled the inauguration for Wednesday, October 14, at the Banquet Hall of the Presidential Villa in Abuja. President Tinubu and other senior party leaders attended the event.
At the inauguration, APC National Chairman Yilwatda highlighted the party’s organisational reach, saying it had more than 261,000 party executives across its national, state, local government and ward structures.
“No political party in Nigeria has our structure. We have over 261,000 party executives, from the national to the ward levels,” Yilwatda said, according to Vanguard.
The expanded campaign council represents the APC’s preparations for the 2027 general election, with the ruling party seeking to mobilise support across party lines and strengthen its presence in states controlled by different political platforms.
