President Bola Tinubu’s meeting with governors elected on the platform of the All Progressives Congress, APC, ended without a final resolution on the controversial 2027 Presidential Campaign Council list on Thursday.
The meeting, held behind closed doors at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, was part of ongoing efforts by the President, APC governors and other senior party leaders to resolve the disagreements that have trailed the campaign council list released by the ruling party on Saturday, August 23, 2026.
The governors arrived at the President’s office shortly before 4:00pm on Thursday after emerging from a separate session of the National Economic Council chaired by Vice President Kashim Shettima, according to The PUNCH.
The Thursday meeting followed a similar engagement held on Wednesday as the party continued consultations over the composition of the campaign council and the concerns raised by various stakeholders.
Multiple party sources who spoke with The PUNCH said the discussions, which began at about 4pm on Wednesday and lasted until around 11pm, failed to produce a conclusion, prompting the consultations to continue on Thursday after the regular meeting of the National Executive Council.
As of press time on Thursday, it remained unclear whether the latest meeting had produced a final decision on the campaign council list or the extent of any changes being considered.
However, sources close to the APC governors and senior party figures said the list had been reviewed during the ongoing deliberations.
One of the sources disclosed that the initial list had been deleted from the party’s X handle, fuelling expectations that an amended version could be released after President Tinubu considers and approves the outcome of the consultations.
“The list is part of the main agenda of the meeting. You can notice that the other controversial list has been deleted from the Twitter handle of the party,” a top source close to the APC governors said.
The controversy surrounding the list intensified following the inclusion of some party chieftains facing corruption charges, while concerns were also raised over the alleged exclusion of key sections of the party from the process that produced the campaign structure.
Another senior party chieftain, speaking on the development, said, “Can you believe that the party was not carried along in the formation of the list? The President’s Special Adviser on Political Matters and a few persons in the Presidency came up with the list.
“You can see the backlash that has trailed it. The President is handling the matter, and it is believed that some changes will be made after the two-day meeting.”
Meanwhile, further findings by our correspondent indicated that the APC was also considering an increased focus on social intervention programmes ahead of the January 2027 election.
The initiative, according to sources, is intended to strengthen the party’s engagement with Nigerians and ease the hardship being experienced by citizens.
The APC had recently unveiled the complete membership of its 2027 Presidential Campaign Council, with President Bola Tinubu as chairman of the council.
Vice President Kashim Shettima and APC National Chairman, Professor Nentawe Yilwatda, were named vice chairmen I and II respectively, while Senator Abdulaziz Yari was appointed Director-General and Imo State Governor, Hope Uzodimma, designated as Secretary.
The 223-member expanded structure also included directorates responsible for finance, extractive industries, education, manufacturing and MSMEs, support group coordination, faith-based mobilisation, protocol, labour union relations, special duties, stakeholders’ mobilisation, community support, digital operations, grassroots engagement and welfare.
Following the backlash over the composition of the council, the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Public Communication, Sunday Dare, said adjustments could be made to the list where necessary.
Dare explained that the campaign structure was still incomplete, with several subcommittees yet to be constituted, meaning additional names could still be accommodated.
“As it is with every other list, there’s a room for subcommittees. Those subcommittees have not been formed, and so many other names will come into that subcommittee,” he said.
Dare also referred to an earlier statement by the APC insisting that the party had not withdrawn the campaign council list.
“But of course, there will be adjustments. The list is not cast in stone, just like every other list,” he added.
Asked whether the anticipated changes amounted to a review of the council, Dare said the proposed alterations should instead be regarded as adjustments where necessary.
“Not a review, just adjustments where necessary,” he said.
He explained that a review would suggest a complete restructuring of the existing arrangement.
“Review is wholesale, this is not wholesale,” Dare said.
Dare added that the proposed subcommittees would allow more party members and political stakeholders to be brought into the campaign structure as the APC prepares for the 2027 election.
