ATIKU HANDS EL-RUFAI KEY 2027 CAMPAIGN ROLE AS ADC UNVEILS NATIONAL ELECTION TEAM

African Democratic Congress presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar has unveiled the leadership of his 2027 presidential campaign, handing former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai a senior role as deputy chairman of the National Campaign Council.

Kashim Ibrahim-Imam will chair the council, while Senator Austin Akobundu has been appointed Director-General and Campaign Manager.

The appointments were announced in a statement issued by Phrank Shaibu, Director of Strategic Communication of the ADC Presidential Campaign Council and Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication to Atiku.

The campaign structure places Ibrahim-Imam and El-Rufai at the top of the council's political leadership, while Akobundu will oversee the day-to-day management and coordination of campaign operations.

According to the campaign, El-Rufai's responsibilities will include high-level political coordination and engagement with key stakeholders across Nigeria.

The former Kaduna governor previously served as Minister of the Federal Capital Territory and remains a prominent figure in national politics.

The newly announced campaign structure also lists Atiku as presidential candidate and former Rivers State Governor Rotimi Amaechi as his vice-presidential candidate.

ADC National Chairman and former Senate President David Mark is also listed among the campaign principals.

The campaign has been organised into six major operational directorates, each headed by a Deputy Director-General, alongside 30 directors assigned specific responsibilities.

Veteran journalist and publisher Dele Momodu will head Media and Communications as a Deputy Director-General, while former Kogi senator Dino Melaye has also been given a role in the wider campaign structure.

John Oyegun, a former governor of Edo State and former national chairman of the All Progressives Congress, will chair the Campaign Advisory Council.

Mohammed Hayatudeen has been selected to lead the campaign's policy team, with Professor Mohammed Sagagi serving as deputy chairman.

The campaign said its structure was deliberately designed to remain relatively lean, arguing that it wanted clearly defined responsibilities rather than a large organisation dominated by political appointments.

Shaibu said the campaign would focus on issues including the cost of food, transportation and energy, unemployment, insecurity and declining purchasing power.

Those are the campaign's stated priorities and will form part of the political contest as Atiku seeks the presidency in the 2027 general election.

The announcement also produced an immediate disagreement involving one of the people named in the wider campaign structure.

Former Central Bank of Nigeria Deputy Governor Kingsley Moghalu rejected his inclusion in Atiku's policy team, saying he had not been consulted and had not consented to his name being published.

Moghalu said he was not a member of Atiku's policy team in either an official or unofficial capacity.

His statement creates an early complication for the newly announced campaign organisation and raises questions over whether every person named in the wider structure had formally accepted their appointment before publication.

Atiku's decision to place El-Rufai in the deputy chairmanship position is nevertheless one of the most notable appointments in the new campaign hierarchy.

El-Rufai previously belonged to the APC and served as Kaduna governor from 2015 to 2023.

His new role places him within the senior leadership of the ADC presidential campaign as Nigeria's major political parties intensify preparations for the 2027 election.

Ibrahim-Imam, meanwhile, is a longstanding political figure and former Borno State governorship candidate who has been involved in national politics for decades.

Akobundu, who will manage campaign operations, represents Abia Central in the Senate. He is a retired Nigerian Army colonel and previously served as Minister of State for Defence.

The campaign says Akobundu will be responsible for converting its political strategy into coordinated activity across the country and ensuring cohesion among its various directorates.

With the leadership structure now publicly announced, Atiku's campaign is moving from internal organisation towards nationwide political mobilisation ahead of the election.

The appointments do not themselves indicate how voters will respond to the ADC ticket or determine the outcome of the 2027 presidential contest.

They do, however, establish the political and operational team Atiku has selected to coordinate his latest presidential campaign.