The African Democratic Congress, ADC, has become the only major political party yet to constitute its presidential campaign council, days after the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, unveiled a 108 member team and nearly a week after the electoral umpire formally opened campaigning for the 2027 general election.
The delay has thrown a spotlight on the readiness of the opposition coalition built around former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, who carries the ADC ticket with former Rivers State governor and ex Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, as his running mate.
According to the timetable released by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, presidential and National Assembly campaigns commenced on 19 August 2026 and will end 24 hours before the presidential poll fixed for 16 January 2027. Campaigns for governorship and state assembly elections are due to begin on 9 September, ahead of those ballots on 6 February 2027. The commission is acting under the 2026 Electoral Act, which permits campaigning to start 150 days before election day.
The APC set the benchmark at the weekend. In a list released on Saturday by President Bola Tinubu’s media aide, Bayo Onanuga, the party named the President as chairman of its campaign council, with Vice President Kashim Shettima as vice chairman and the APC National Chairman, Nentawe Yilwatda, as second vice chairman. Former Zamfara State governor, Senator Abdulaziz Yari, was appointed Director General, while Imo State governor, Hope Uzodimma, will serve as secretary.
The council, put at 108 members, also drew in the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas, former Edo State governor, Adams Oshiomhole, and the President’s Chief of Staff, Femi Gbajabiamila. A council of advisers was listed to include Chief Bisi Akande, Chief Segun Osoba, Senator Rochas Okorocha, former Senate President Abdullahi Adamu and Senator Florence Ita Giwa. Yari, in accepting the role, called on Nigerians across party lines to back the President’s re election bid.
For the ADC, the hold up is less about names than about direction. The party’s National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, said last week that the structure was ready to be unveiled, but the announcement did not come. Investigations by several newspapers indicate that the party’s hierarchy has been locked in debate over whether to retain the familiar faces who have run opposition campaigns since the era of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, or to bring in fresh hands who could inject new energy and ideas into the effort.
The party’s National Chairman, Senator David Mark, and Atiku are reported to have held consultations on the shape of the council, with a final decision said to be near. One unresolved question is the geopolitical spread of the council leadership. With Atiku from the North East and Amaechi from the South South, party managers are under pressure to balance the top campaign positions across the six geopolitical zones while also rewarding coalition partners who crossed over from other platforms.
Attention within the party has centred on former Sokoto State governor and serving Senator, Aminu Tambuwal, who is widely tipped to head the Atiku campaign organisation. Tambuwal held the same position during the 2023 election on the PDP platform, a contest Atiku lost to Tinubu. He formally joined the ADC in March 2026 and has said he will not seek another Senate term. Former Cross River State governor, Liyel Imoke, has also been mentioned in the consultations. No appointment had been confirmed as of the time of this report.
The unfinished council reflects the wider task of welding a diverse coalition into a single fighting structure. The ADC has spent the past year positioning itself as the umbrella for opposition forces seeking to deny the APC a second term. That project has not been seamless. Former Labour Party candidate Peter Obi, once discussed as a possible partner on the ADC ticket, opted instead to pursue his own presidential bid after coalition talks stalled, contesting on a separate platform reported as the Nigeria Democratic Congress. The split leaves the anti APC vote at risk of fragmentation, the very outcome the coalition was designed to avoid.
Even so, the Atiku camp has pressed ahead with grassroots mobilisation. Earlier in August, the former Vice President inaugurated state coordinators of the RiseUpNaija Movement, which set a target of 20 million votes and pledged to build structures down to every polling unit across the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory.
The ADC has also sharpened its attacks. Responding to the APC unveiling, Abdullahi described the ruling party’s campaign council as a “rehabilitation centre for corruption suspects,” and defended Atiku’s proposal to restore a form of petrol subsidy if elected, a plan that has drawn a firm rebuttal from the presidency.
Party officials insist there is no cause for alarm, arguing that the 19 August date merely opens the campaign window and does not compel any candidate to begin activities immediately. Some strategists contend that campaigning too early only raises costs for candidates and their backers. What is confirmed is that the formal race is now on, that the APC has moved first with a fully constituted council, and that the ADC remains the notable holdout among the leading contenders.
Whether the delay signals careful coalition management or deeper disagreement will become clearer once the council is finally announced, an event party sources say is expected within days. For an opposition that has staked its case on unity and readiness, the timing of that announcement, and the balance it strikes, will be read closely.