Federal Agency Chiefs Form Coalition For Tinubu’s Re-election

A coalition of federal agency chiefs has been formed to spearhead President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s 2027 reelection campaign.

In the political mobilisation, the institutions’ heavyweights under the Forum of Chief Executives of Federal Parastatals have united to inject technical, strategic and institutional muscle into the All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential Campaign Council (PCC).

Disclosing this in Abuja during their engagement with APC national chairman, Prof. Nentawe Yilwatda, and members of the party’s National Working Committee (NWC), the chief executives presented their vision for stronger collaboration between government institutions, political stakeholders, and the party.

Accordingly, the agency chiefs have formed a complementary campaign structure with a focus on grassroots mobilisation, campaign messaging, election planning, monitoring and management ahead of the 2027 general elections.

The forum’s chairman and director-general/chief executive Officer of the National Board for Technology Incubation (NBTI), Dr Kazeem Raji, said it was conceived as more than an association of heads of government agencies. He described it as a platform for collaboration, knowledge-sharing, coordination, and the exchange of ideas capable of contributing to national development.

“We are here not merely as Chief Executives occupying strategic positions in the federal government, but as professionals, public-sector leaders, political stakeholders and Nigerians deeply committed to the progress, stability and prosperity of our nation,” Raji said.

He stressed the responsibility of public institutions to ensure Nigerians properly understand government programmes and achievements, adding that the Forum will continue encouraging cooperation among Chief Executives to advance national development.

“Where government has delivered, we should communicate it,” Raji said, just as he expressed confidence that the APC leadership would continue to strengthen the party’s structures and deepen its engagement with Nigerians.

He assured that the forum was prepared to work constructively with relevant stakeholders to improve public understanding of government programmes, achievements and opportunities.

Building on the chairman’s remarks, chairman of the forum’s Media and Publicity Committee, Otunba Biodun Ajiboye, gave a more detailed explanation of the Forum’s proposed role, describing its intervention as a technical partnership that could complement the work of the Presidential Campaign Council.

Ajiboye, who is also the Executive Secretary/CEO of the National Institute for Cultural Orientation (NICO), noted that the forum has access to experienced professionals and administrators capable of contributing to various aspects of campaign organisation, including election planning and monitoring, mobilisation, media management, strategic messaging, and overall campaign coordination.

He emphasised that the Forum was not seeking to duplicate or compete with the PCC, but to establish a complementary mechanism capable of extending its reach and providing additional technical capacity where necessary.

Drawing a distinction between the communication challenge of the 2023 presidential campaign and what he believes will define the 2027 contest, Ajiboye said the central campaign message in 2023 was necessarily built around what the APC candidate intended to do if elected President. By 2027, he argued, the conversation would have fundamentally changed from “what we will do” to “what we have done.”

To this effect, he explained that the chief executives of federal parastatals occupy a potentially useful position in communicating the administration’s record because they are directly involved in implementing programmes and policies across different sectors of government.

He proposed that the forum function as an additional technical and monitoring body alongside the PCC, helping to identify communication gaps, strengthen campaign messaging, and reach audiences that the central campaign machinery might miss

“The communication apparatus for an election and campaign cannot be left to the PCC alone,” Ajiboye said while outlining the forum’s position, stressing that the proposed structure would be complementary.

Ajiboye also praised President Tinubu’s approach to governance, arguing that some of the administration’s major reforms demonstrate a willingness to confront structural problems despite their potential political cost.

In his assessment, this reflected a President prepared to prioritise what he considered necessary long-term reforms even as another election approaches.

The forum, he said, intends to return to the party with more detailed technical proposals and practical ideas on how its members could contribute to the 2027 campaign.

Responding to the delegation, APC National Chairman Prof. Nentawe Yilwatda Goshwe welcomed the forum’s initiative, describing its formation as timely.

Yilwatda said the party recognised the potential role the Chief Executives could play in political communication and grassroots engagement, even as he encouraged broad participation in the forum among heads of relevant federal parastatals.

He stressed that electoral success requires different stakeholders to understand and perform their respective roles, while identifying grassroots mobilisation as an important component of the party’s preparations.

The national chairman also welcomed the proposal for the forum to develop a structure that could complement the Presidential Campaign Council, particularly in taking campaign information and government messaging closer to communities across the country.

He further indicated that the party was prepared to engage constructively with the forum and explore broader interaction with Chief Executives of Federal Parastatals as discussions around the 2027 campaign develop.

Yilwatda also referenced President Tinubu’s long-term economic ambitions, saying government institutions have a responsibility to contribute within their respective mandates towards achieving the administration’s national development objectives.

The meeting consequently established a framework for further engagement between the APC leadership and the forum, with both sides indicating an interest in exploring how professional expertise, institutional knowledge and grassroots networks could complement the party’s formal campaign architecture.