Nigeria’s ruling All Progressives Congress has fixed October 24 in Kaduna as the launch date for President Bola Tinubu’s 2027 re-election campaign, and has released a rally calendar that takes the party to all 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory.
The schedule, posted on X on Thursday, opens with the Kaduna flag-off, which Tinubu is expected to attend. Rallies then run from Calabar on Nov. 2 to Owerri on Dec. 30, with Abuja set for Dec. 21. One published version of the list also shows Yola on Jan. 4 and a closing rally in Lagos on Jan. 9, 2027.
November is the busiest month, with 17 stops that include Port Harcourt on Nov. 7, Jos on Nov. 14, Ibadan on Nov. 21, Maiduguri on Nov. 25 and Enugu on Nov. 28. December brings 17 more, among them Sokoto on Dec. 5, Asaba on Dec. 12 and Kano on Dec. 17. Ilorin and Dutse share a Dec. 10 date.
Sen. Abdulaziz Yari, director general of the APC Presidential Campaign Council, said earlier this month that Tinubu had approved the plan for state visits after a meeting at the State House. Yari said the campaign will rest on the administration’s record. “We are not promising. We are doing it,” he told State House correspondents. The council’s inaugural meeting was scheduled for Oct. 14 at the State House in Abuja, and Yari said the full itinerary would follow.
He also dismissed the chances of opposition figures, including former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and former Anambra Gov. Peter Obi, arguing that a candidate without northern support cannot win. Yari claimed Tinubu controls more than 10 states in the North and more than 10 in the South. Those assertions have not been independently verified.
Atiku, who is with the African Democratic Congress, has already inaugurated that party’s presidential campaign council in Abuja. He told members to mobilize Nigerians nationwide and present the party as a credible alternative for 2027.
The timeline is tight. The Independent National Electoral Commission opened the window for presidential campaigns on Aug. 19, 2026, and has set the presidential election for Jan. 16, 2027. A Lagos finale on Jan. 9 would land about a week before voters go to the polls.
Tinubu is not expected to appear at every stop. One report said he will personally lead rallies in about a dozen states, including Port Harcourt, Jos, Ibadan, Maiduguri, Enugu, Sokoto, Kano, Yola and Lagos, while the campaign council covers the rest. Yari has named Port Harcourt and Maiduguri among the early destinations.
Some versions of the calendar circulating online omit the Yola and Lagos dates, so the party’s final list may still change.
