Kwankwaso Fires Political Warning as APC Campaign Council Turns 2027 Into a Battle Over Hardship

The 2027 presidential race has barely warmed up, but Nigerian politicians are already behaving as though election day is tomorrow morning and the ballot boxes are hiding somewhere. Former Kano State Governor and Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) vice-presidential candidate Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso has attacked the newly constituted All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential Campaign Council, describing its composition as a sign that Nigerians may be asked to choose between a fresh beginning and the continuation of what he regards as the current hardship.

Kwankwaso’s intervention, contained in a statement posted on X, comes as the APC begins assembling its machinery for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s 2027 re-election campaign. The council is chaired by Tinubu, with former Zamfara Governor Abdul’aziz Yari as Director-General and former Borno Governor Ali Modu Sheriff as North-East Zonal Campaign Coordinator.

The Campaign Council On Hardship Meets the Nigerian Cost-of-Living Reality

Kwankwaso argues that the APC council contains many of the political actors who have supported or defended the present administration and therefore gives voters an early preview of the political choice awaiting them in 2027. He points to food prices, unemployment, insecurity and pressure on essential services as evidence of the hardship confronting ordinary Nigerians.

In proper political-satire language, the opposition candidate appears to be asking Nigerians to inspect the campaign council before inspecting the campaign promises: if the same political faces are returning with another campaign suitcase, should voters expect a different destination? Kwankwaso consequently framed the coming contest as one between the “oppressed” and those he believes have sustained their oppression. The argument has already drawn criticism from former presidential media aide Bashir Ahmad, who said the election should instead be judged by ideas, records, competence and competing visions.

Yari Gets an Invitation to Rethink—and Sheriff Gets Dragged Into the Debate

Kwankwaso also appealed directly to Yari to reconsider accepting the campaign DG position, arguing that the former Zamfara governor understands the insecurity, poverty, displacement and economic difficulties affecting the North-West. The appeal has, however, produced its own political punchline: an APC support group accused Kwankwaso of being “jittery” about Yari’s appointment, arguing that nobody normally begs a political opponent to leave a battlefield unless that opponent is considered dangerous.

Meanwhile, the Nigeria Rescue & Renewal Movement (NRRM) has separately questioned the inclusion of Ali Modu Sheriff as North-East campaign coordinator and called for a review of the campaign council. Sheriff himself has recently taken a prominent pro-Tinubu position, while Kwankwaso has previously clashed with him over Sherif’s assertion that Peter Obi would struggle to win Northern votes in 2027. That earlier exchange shows that the latest campaign-council dispute is not an isolated quarrel but another chapter in an increasingly crowded Northern political contest.

For now, Nigerians are watching politicians argue over whether the 2027 election will be a referendum on hardship, a contest of records and ideas, or—as Nigerian political tradition occasionally suggests—a very expensive family meeting where everybody arrives with a microphone. Whatever the final script becomes, the composition of the APC campaign council, the reaction to Yari’s role and the controversy surrounding Sheriff are likely to remain important talking points as the 2027 race gathers momentum. OGM News NG will continue to watch the political theatre for the next dramatic entrance.