By Seyi Odewale
The ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) has raised the organisational stakes in the 2027 presidential race by unveiling a 223-member campaign council, forcing opposition parties to demonstrate how their alliances will translate into nationwide electoral structures.
The development comes in the early days of the official campaign, with APC already displaying its command structure while major opposition contenders continue consultations over their campaign organisations.
President Bola Tinubu will chair the APC Presidential Campaign Council, with Vice-President Kashim Shettima and APC National Chairman, Nentawe Yilwatda, serving as vice-chairmen.
Former Zamfara State governor and serving Senator, Abdulaziz Yari, is Director-General, while Imo State Governor Hope Uzodimma is Secretary.
The council brings together governors, National Assembly leaders, party officials, former political office holders and professionals assigned responsibilities across mobilisation, administration, logistics, media, legal affairs, finance and election planning.
Its structure also covers grassroots mobilisation, parliamentary coordination, faith-based engagement, labour relations, communications, new media and geopolitical election planning.
The scale of the APC arrangement has created a new organisational benchmark for the opposition, particularly the Nigeria Democratic Congress, African Democratic Congress, Social Democratic Party, African Action Congress and Peoples Redemption Party.
A lecturer at the University of Calabar, Dr Jude Okore, said the APC’s announcement had shifted the political contest from alliance formation to the more difficult task of building an effective electoral machine.
“The opposition must now demonstrate that its presidential tickets and political alliances are backed by structures capable of operating across the country. It is not enough to assemble popular candidates, former governors, ministers or influential politicians and assume that their personal networks will automatically produce votes,” Okore said.
He said presidential campaigns required a clearly defined chain of command extending from national headquarters to states, local governments, wards and polling units.
“Every serious presidential campaign must answer practical questions about who coordinates each geopolitical zone, who manages state and local government operations, who handles logistics, who mobilises voters, who communicates the campaign message and who protects the party’s interests at polling units,” he said.
According to Okore, the organisational difference could become electorally significant because political popularity had to be converted into votes through grassroots structures.
“The election will ultimately be decided at polling units. A party may generate enormous enthusiasm at rallies and social media platforms, but if that enthusiasm is not translated into voter mobilisation, effective agent deployment and election-day coordination, it may not produce the expected electoral outcome,” he said.
The analyst, however, cautioned against assuming that the APC’s large council automatically guaranteed victory.
“The number of people in a campaign council does not determine electoral success. What matters is coordination, funding, discipline and the ability of those appointed to perform clearly defined responsibilities. The APC has established the structure publicly, but it must now prove that the structure can function effectively,” Okore said.
The opposition parties are not inactive, however.
The NDC, which has Peter Obi as its presidential candidate and Rabiu Kwankwaso as running mate, has commenced campaign activities, with the two camps consulting on the composition and operation of the presidential campaign council. Reports of disagreements over the structure have also emerged, although representatives of both camps have denied any power struggle.
The ADC, fielding former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar with former Rivers State governor Rotimi Amaechi as his running mate, has also begun preparations but has reportedly faced disagreements over the composition of its campaign leadership.
The difference is therefore not that the opposition has done nothing, but that the APC has already placed a comprehensive presidential campaign structure in the public domain while its principal challengers are still working out comparable arrangements.
Another political analyst, Opeyemi Ajayi, said that distinction had created pressure on the opposition because voters and party supporters would increasingly expect to see the organisational machinery behind the various presidential tickets.
“The APC has made its structure visible and has effectively told the country who is responsible for driving its presidential campaign. The opposition does not necessarily have to copy the APC’s 223-member model, but it must demonstrate that it has an equally coherent mechanism for taking its candidates to voters across Nigeria,” Ajayi said.
He said smaller campaign councils could actually be more effective if properly organised.
“The number of names does not determine campaign effectiveness on a list. What matters is whether responsibilities are clearly assigned, whether the people involved have the capacity to deliver and whether there is a functioning structure connecting the national campaign to the grassroots,” Ajayi said.
He added that the opposition’s challenge was particularly important because its political alliances brought together different regional interests and established networks.
“An alliance is only the beginning. The real work starts when those different political blocs have to agree on one message, one mobilisation strategy, one fundraising mechanism and one election-day operation. If they cannot achieve that coordination, the strength of the individual politicians may not translate into a collective electoral advantage,” he said.
John Akpochafo, a Delta State-based lawyer and political analyst, said the APC’s campaign council would also create expectations for the ruling party.
“The APC has taken the initiative, but the size and prominence of its campaign council also place a responsibility on the party. Nigerians will expect those appointed to defend the administration’s record, explain its policies and take its message into communities where voters are dealing with economic hardship and other concerns,” Akpochafo said.
He said the opposition would likely make economic hardship, insecurity, unemployment and the cost of living central to its campaign.
“The opposition will focus on areas where Nigerians are dissatisfied, and that is normal in an election. The APC must therefore ensure that its campaign is not simply a parade of prominent politicians. It must be a disciplined operation capable of communicating facts, defending the administration’s record and responding directly to the concerns of voters,” he said.
Akpochafo said the opposition should equally avoid measuring its strength by the prominence of politicians within its alliances.
“You can have former governors, ministers, legislators and other big names in an alliance, but elections are not won by big names alone. The decisive question is whether those people can work together and establish effective structures at the local government, ward and polling-unit levels,” he said.
The SDP, with Adewole Adebayo as its presidential candidate, has also commenced campaign activities after the party’s ticket was recognised and published by INEC.
The AAC, whose presidential candidate is Omoyele Sowore, and the PRP, with Donald Duke as its presidential candidate, face the additional challenge of building national structures capable of competing with the two larger opposition coalitions and the ruling APC.
The emerging contest is therefore shifting beyond defections, endorsements and coalition announcements to the question of who has the machinery to turn political support into votes.
APC has now shown its campaign architecture. The opposition has candidates, alliances, and mobilisation efforts, but must still publicly demonstrate how those assets will be coordinated into comparable nationwide presidential operations.
As the campaign gathers momentum, the organisational gap could become increasingly important because the 2027 contest will be fought not only through speeches and rallies but also through the less visible machinery of mobilisation, logistics, communications, voter contact, and polling-unit operations.
For the opposition, the pressure is therefore no longer simply to produce presidential candidates capable of challenging Tinubu.
It is to show Nigerians that behind those candidates stands a campaign machine capable of taking the fight to every part of the country.
*SERAP demands INEC disclose political donation limits ahead of 2027
Meanwhile, the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has asked the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to disclose whether it has prescribed limits on political contributions ahead of the 2027 general elections.
SERAP, in a Freedom of Information request dated August 22 and signed by its Deputy Director, Kolawole Oluwadare, also demanded that INEC publish any limits prescribed under Section 91 of the Electoral Act, 2026, and explain how it intends to monitor and enforce compliance with them.
The organisation wants the Electoral Commission to disclose the systems, personnel and procedures it has put in place to monitor political contributions and campaign expenditure during the ongoing electoral process.
It specifically asked INEC to explain how it would monitor cash and in-kind contributions, digital and social media financing, third-party expenditure, and donations routed through intermediaries to prevent the circumvention of statutory limits.
SERAP said the issue had become particularly important as political parties and candidates were already mobilising resources, soliciting contributions, purchasing media and digital advertising and organising political activities ahead of the 2027 elections.
“Where INEC has exercised its power under section 91, Nigerians are entitled to know the applicable contribution limits and how the Commission intends to ensure compliance with them,” SERAP said.
The organisation also asked INEC to disclose political parties’ latest financial statements, audited accounts and election expenditure returns for 2023 to 2025, as well as relevant examination and audit reports submitted to the National Assembly.
It further demanded disclosure of enforcement actions taken for political finance and expenditure violations, as well as details of INEC’s 2027 political finance monitoring plan.
SERAP said transparency was necessary to prevent excessive financial influence from distorting electoral competition and undermining voters’ ability to make free and informed choices.
It argued that INEC’s constitutional responsibilities extend beyond receiving financial statements from political parties to examining their finances, conducting investigations and reporting its findings to the National Assembly.
“INEC’s constitutional responsibility is not simply to receive financial statements from political parties,” the organisation said.
SERAP also raised concerns over what it described as persistent non-disclosure of campaign contributions by political parties and weak enforcement of political-finance rules.
It said the lack of clear information about contribution limits and enforcement mechanisms could make it difficult for voters, journalists and civil-society organisations to scrutinise political financing before it affects electoral competition.
The organisation cited Section 91 of the Electoral Act, 2026, which empowers INEC to limit the amount an individual may contribute to a political party or candidate and to require information on donations and their sources.
It also referred to constitutional provisions that require INEC to examine the accounts and financial records of political parties and to submit reports to the National Assembly.
SERAP said INEC should immediately publish any contribution limits it had prescribed in a prominent and accessible location, including on its website, and disclose the methodology used in determining the limits.
It also urged the Commission to disclose the political parties that submitted reports of contributions received following the 2023 general elections, the dates of submission and action taken against parties that failed to meet statutory requirements.
The organisation gave INEC seven days to provide the requested information, warning that it would consider legal action to compel compliance if the Commission failed to respond within the stipulated period.
