Reported by Ariajegbe Sylvia Esezobor
Three former governors and several political figures held closed-door talks with Vice President Kashim Shettima at the Aso Rock Presidential Villa in Abuja on Monday, October 12, 2026, in a meeting that came barely 48 hours before the inauguration of the All Progressives Congress Presidential Campaign Council and twelve days before the party's campaign flag-off in Kaduna.
The delegation, identified as the leadership of the National Directorate of Arewa for Asiwaju Movement, arrived at the State House at about 4 p.m. and was led straight to the Vice President's wing. The group was led by former Kogi State Governor Yahaya Bello and former Jigawa State Governor Abubakar Badaru, both of whom have remained influential figures in the ruling party's northern political machinery. Former Plateau State Governor Simon Lalong was also in attendance, alongside the Director-General of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, Brigadier General Buba Marwa (retd.), and the Special Adviser to the President on Policy Coordination, Hadiza Bala-Usman. The Minister of Livestock Development, Idi Maiha, and the Special Adviser to the President and Coordinator of the Presidential Livestock Reform, Professor Attahiru Jega, were attending a separate meeting at the President's wing when the delegation arrived.
The purpose of the visit was not officially disclosed. Sources described it as a courtesy call, but the timing of the meeting, coming just two days before the APC campaign council's inauguration, suggested it was part of the party's broader mobilisation efforts ahead of the 2027 general elections. The Arewa for Asiwaju Movement is one of several northern political groups that have declared support for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu's re-election bid, and its leadership's presence at the Villa underscored the administration's focus on consolidating its support base in the North-West and North-Central geopolitical zones. The involvement of figures like Bello, who governed Kogi State from 2016 to 2024 and remains a significant political operator in the North-Central, and Badaru, who governed Jigawa State from 2015 to 2023 and later served as Minister of Defence, signalled that the President's re-election campaign was drawing on a network of former governors and political heavyweights to mobilise support at the grassroots.
The meeting came amid intense preparations for the APC campaign council's inauguration, scheduled for Wednesday, October 14, 2026, at the State House Conference Centre in Abuja. The Director-General of the campaign council, Senator Abdulaziz Yari, announced the date after briefing President Tinubu at the Villa on Friday. Yari said the campaign would formally begin with a flag-off rally in Kaduna on October 24, after which it would move to Port Harcourt, Rivers State, and Maiduguri, Borno State. The full campaign schedule is to be released after the council is inaugurated. President Tinubu is seeking re-election in the presidential poll scheduled for January 16, 2027, with the governorship and state assembly elections following on February 6.
The political context of the meeting is significant. The 2027 general elections will be one of the most consequential in Nigeria's recent history, with President Tinubu facing a fragmented but determined opposition. Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar is contesting on the platform of the African Democratic Congress with former Rivers State Governor Rotimi Amaechi as his running mate. Former Anambra Governor Peter Obi is flying the flag of the Nigeria Democratic Congress with Senator Rabiu Kwankwaso. Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde is running on the Allied Peoples Movement platform with former DSS Director-General Lawal Daura. The APC has consistently expressed confidence in its ability to retain power, with the party's National Chairman, Professor Nentawe Yilwatda, dismissing the "Tinubu Must Go" campaign as opposition-driven and insisting that the APC remains confident ahead of the elections.
The APC's campaign strategy appears to be built around a combination of incumbency advantages, the support of governors and former governors, and a network of grassroots movements like the Arewa for Asiwaju Movement. The involvement of former governors who have retained political influence in their respective states is critical to the party's ability to mobilise voters in the North, where the President's support base is strongest. The meeting with Shettima, who has been a central figure in the administration's political outreach, signalled that the Vice President remains the administration's chief political coordinator, tasked with managing relationships across the party's diverse support base. Shettima has consistently argued that the North must respect the principle of power rotation and allow the South to complete its eight-year tenure before power returns to the North in 2031, a position that has become central to the APC's campaign messaging.
The broader political environment has been shaped by a series of controversies and realignments. The National Peace Committee has recorded 60 election-related incidents within one month, including political violence, intimidation, threats and misinformation, and has warned political actors against inflammatory campaigns. The Supreme Court's September 28 ruling restored key provisions of the Electoral Act 2026 governing party membership registers and candidate nomination procedures, settling a legal uncertainty that had clouded preparations for the elections. The Nigeria Labour Congress has given the Federal Government a two-week ultimatum to reduce petrol prices and begin minimum wage negotiations. The Federal Government has announced a 30-day petrol discount through NNPC Limited and proposed a ceiling on the ex-gantry cost of petrol, measures designed to ease the cost-of-living burden ahead of the elections.
For the APC, the meeting at the Villa was another step in the party's methodical preparation for a campaign that will test its ability to manage internal tensions, present a united front, and persuade voters that the administration's economic reforms, however painful, are laying the foundation for long-term prosperity. The presence of former governors and key political figures at the Villa, two days before the campaign council's inauguration, suggested that the party intended to enter the campaign season with its machinery fully mobilised. As Yari put it, the campaign would move from Kaduna to Port Harcourt and Maiduguri, with the full schedule to be released after the council's inauguration. The coming weeks will determine whether the APC's preparation translates into the kind of grassroots mobilisation that delivers electoral success, or whether the opposition's momentum proves stronger than the ruling party's machinery.
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