Governor Umar Bago of Niger State has declared himself the self-appointed Director-General of President Bola Tinubu’s re-election campaign for the 2027 general election.
Speaking at an All Progressives Congress stakeholders’ meeting held in Minna on Monday, Bago stated that Niger State will serve as the campaign headquarters for the president’s second-term bid.
“I am now the self-imposed director-general of Tinubu campaign for 2027,” Bago announced.
“Niger state is the campaign headquarters for Asiwaju 2027.”
The governor also took aim at political actors opposing the presidency returning to the south in 2027, urging adherence to Nigeria’s informal power rotation system.
“We are Nigerians, and we love Nigeria. There is an unwritten understanding in this country for power to evolve from the north and to the south and from the south to the north,” he said. “This has brought relative peace to this country. In the last two years plus, we just finished the eight-year tenure of late President Muhammadu Buhari [may Allah forgive his soul] and Asiwaju is just in his second year.”
Bago criticised some members of the APC who have either left the party or withdrawn their support, branding them as ungrateful beneficiaries of past opportunities.
“Why are people from this part of the country trying to bring issues? Especially the children of the APC? You have eaten from APC. APC is what you are. Some of you were governors, ministers, advisers, and commissioners, and you dwelt for eight years,” he said. “Now, you are on sabbatical and have decided to come together to distort a government.”
Continuing, he defended the Tinubu administration against criticism over national challenges, attributing many of the problems to the previous administration.
“Because we are one party, we decided to keep things low. You talked about bad roads. Asiwaju did not make the bad roads; he inherited them and is fixing them,” he said. “Asiwaju did not spoil your schools; he inherited them. He is trying to fix them, likewise bad roads. And you want to use that to campaign against us? You are shameless. Asiwaju did not spoil your hospitals; he inherited them. What we expect from you as a thank you is loyalty and gratitude that there was a transition from APC to APC, not what you are doing.”
The governor also spoke on the state of the economy and insecurity, asserting that blame should not be placed on the current government.
“We know the perpetrators of the cracks in the [nation’s] economy. I know exactly what I inherited, but I have not spoken to or probed anybody or asked anybody to refund. Please, let the sleeping dog lie.”
“Asiwaju or Bago did not cause this insecurity, but right now, the people of your constituency can sleep with their eyes closed because we are working,” he said.
Bago noted that many local government areas in Niger State that were once deserted due to terrorist activity are now seeing the return of residents.
Meanwhile, earlier this month, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) warned political parties and aspirants against engaging in premature campaign activities ahead of the 2027 general elections. The commission emphasized that while political discourse is allowed, formal campaigning or canvassing for votes at this stage is not only inappropriate but also a violation of the Electoral Act.
