Tinubu inaugurates campaign council, says he won’t go everywhere: ‘We have bills to pay’

Updated 10:33 WAT, 16 Oct 2026: The APC has released a campaign schedule listing 12 states where Tinubu is expected to attend rallies, from Kaduna on 24 October to a closing rally in Lagos on 9 January 2027.

President Bola Tinubu has told the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential campaign council not to expect him at every campaign event before the 2027 election, saying the demands of government come first.

He spoke on Wednesday, 14 October 2026, as he inaugurated the council at the State House Conference Centre in Abuja, according to a statement from the State House and reports by Premium Times and Vanguard.

Why it matters

Nigerians elect a president and National Assembly on Saturday, 16 January 2027, with governorship and state assembly elections on Saturday, 6 February, under the timetable set by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Arise News reported. Campaigning for the presidential election has been allowed since 19 August 2026.

The President’s remarks set out how he plans to divide his time between running the country and seeking a second term in the three months before polling day.

What did Tinubu say?

“Nigeria needs more attention now than ever before. The responsibility of this office does not pause,” Tinubu said, according to Premium Times.

He linked his absence from some campaign events to the government’s finances. “So, you will excuse me from going everywhere with you; we have bills to pay. The American creditors cannot wait,” he said, as reported by Premium Times. The State House statement carries the same lines on bills and creditors.

According to the State House, Imo State Governor Hope Uzodimma, the council’s secretary and Chairman of the Progressive Governors Forum, had advised the President not to let the pressure of campaigning distract him from governing. “You’ve warned me not to allow the rigour of the campaign to distract me from governance, I hear you,” Tinubu said, Vanguard reported.

He said he would still address voters himself. “However, I will still make time to speak directly with Nigerians,” he said, according to the State House statement.

“We have not gathered merely to inaugurate a council. We have gathered to renew a covenant,” he told members, according to Vanguard.

Who else spoke?

Vice-President Kashim Shettima, Senate President Godswill Akpabio, Speaker of the House of Representatives Tajudeen Abbas and APC National Chairman Professor Nentawe Yilwatda addressed the event, the State House and Premium Times reported.

The State House said Osun State Governor Ademola Adeleke of the Accord Party, Anambra State Governor Chukwuma Soludo of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) and Federal Capital Territory Minister Nyesom Wike also gave goodwill messages backing the President’s re-election.

Shettima took aim at the opposition. “Meanwhile, those offering to rescue Nigeria cannot keep their own political households intact,” he said, according to Premium Times.

How did the opposition respond?

Former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar, the presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), dismissed the expanded council in a statement issued by Phrank Shaibu, director of strategic communication of the ADC presidential campaign council.

“Only a man afraid of his record would think he could bury it under hundreds of names,” the statement said, according to Vanguard.

Who runs the APC campaign?

Tinubu chairs the council, with Shettima and Yilwatda as vice-chairmen, Senator Abdulaziz Yari as director-general and Uzodimma as secretary, according to the list released in August by Bayo Onanuga, the President’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, and reported by The Guardian.

Yari said after meeting the President earlier this month that “by God’s grace, on the 24th of October, we’re going to do our flag-off campaign in Kaduna”, ThisDay reported. GistMatrix reported the plan on 10 October.

Where will Tinubu campaign?

A day after the inauguration, the APC released a campaign rally schedule that lists 12 states where the President is expected to appear in person, Premium Times and ThisDay reported. The timetable was published on the verified X account of the Renewed Hope 2.0 campaign, according to TVC News.

The tour opens with the flag-off in Kaduna on Saturday, 24 October, and ends with a closing rally in Lagos on Saturday, 9 January 2027, the three outlets reported. In between, Premium Times and ThisDay list rallies in Port Harcourt, Rivers State (7 November), Jos, Plateau State (14 November), Ibadan, Oyo State (21 November), Maiduguri, Borno State (25 November), Enugu (28 November), Asaba, Delta State (12 December), Kano (17 December) and Yola, Adamawa State (4 January 2027), as well as Sokoto and Bauchi. The two papers give different dates for the Sokoto and Bauchi rallies.

The APC said “the schedule is subject to adjustments”, Premium Times reported.

What happens next

The APC campaign is due to be flagged off in Kaduna on Saturday, 24 October 2026, and the President’s next scheduled rally is in Port Harcourt on 7 November, according to the party’s schedule as reported by Premium Times and ThisDay. Under INEC’s timetable, campaigning must end 24 hours before polling, ahead of the presidential and National Assembly elections on Saturday, 16 January 2027.

Watch for whether the President keeps to the 12-state schedule, which the APC says may change, and for the opposition parties’ own campaign launches in the weeks ahead.