The decision by the All Progressives Congress Presidential Campaign Council (APC-PCC) to limit official campaign commentary stems from internal conflicts and growing dissatisfaction over how public relations and publicity were managed.
There are indications that the All Progressives Congress has not been comfortable with what is being projected by the Media and Strategic Communications Directorate of the council.
A directive issued by the Chief of Staff to the President and Deputy Director-General (Administration) of the council, Femi Gbajabiamila, yesterday, stated that all individuals previously designated as spokespersons have been relieved of those specific roles and absorbed into the broader media directorate.
Gbajabiamila stated that the reorganization was aimed at fostering a “more cohesive, disciplined, and effective public engagement.”
Broadcast networks were also advised to update their booking protocols, as delegates for media appearances will now be assigned strictly on a case-by-case basis.
The three persons now officially authorized to speak for the campaign council are the Campaign Director-General, Senator Abdulaziz Yari; Minister of Solid Minerals Dele Alake; and Minister of Information and National Orientation, Alhaji Mohammed Idris.
At the composition of the council, those authorized to speak are, Dele Alake, Alwan Hassan, Ayobami Feyisetan Oyalowo,
Kemi Asekun-Shittu, and Adamu Fanda.
The four other persons have now been asked to move to the directorate which has other members like Bayo Onanuga, Lanre Isa Onilu, Tunde Rahman, Sunday Dare, Daniel Bwala, Felix Morka, Abdulaziz Abdulaziz, Temitope Ajayi, Arabirin Aderonke, Fredrick Nwabufo, Segun Dada; Solomon Arowolo and others. The Minister of information who was in the directorate will by the current directive join Alake to speak for the campaign council.
A chieftain of the APC who spoke to our correspondent on condition of anonymity, said it was the APC that raised concerns that some of the spokesperson have been talking to the public without clear approval from it and most times causing embarrassment to the party and its presidential candidate.
He said the decision to streamline the media team is to ensure discipline and coordinated information dissemination from the Presidential Council saying henceforth, nobody in the media directorate will be allowed to speak with the press apart from the three approved officials.
He clarified that those initially appointed to speak for the council were not sacked but would only join other members of the media directorate.
Our correspondent however learnt that the immediate cause of the changes might not be unconnected with a high-profile broadcast incident in which one of the presidential campaign spokespersons, Mallam Alwan Hassan attempted to demonstrate public infrastructure readiness by dialing the nation’s 112 emergency toll-free line live on television, only for the call to fail.
Hassan had previously alleged that some ministers paid to secure their appointments and are now seeking to recoup their investments during a live television programme.
The Nigerian Democratic Congress (NDC) yesterday seized on the live broadcast failure, labeling it a “national embarrassment” and claiming it highlights broader governance shortcomings.
In a statement released Wednesday, NDC spokesperson Dr. Chiogo Constance Ikokwu rejected government explanations attributing the call failure to temporary network glitches.
Ikokwu argued that the mishap reflects systemic issues across public infrastructure, healthcare, and security, accusing the administration of prioritizing public relations over functional public services.
APC is blaming the messengers for its failure- ADC- PCC
The African Democratic Congress Presidential Campaign Council (ADC-PCC) has welcomed with satisfaction the dissolution of the spokespersons of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s re-election campaign, describing the move as an act of desperation by a government unwilling to confront the truth about its failures.
The ADC-PCC said the decision should have gone further by courageously advising President Tinubu to withdraw from the 2027 presidential race in the overriding interest of the country.
The Council recalled that the dissolution followed the damning disclosure by Hassan Alwan, one of the APC Presidential Campaign Council’s spokespersons, that ministers under President Tinubu allegedly paid to secure their appointments and were expected to recoup their investments while in office.
This was disclosed by Kola Ologbondiyan, Director of Media and Publicity ADC Presidential Campaign Council (ADC-PCC) on Wednesday.
According to the ADC-PCC, rather than address the serious allegations of monetised political appointments, the APC has chosen to blame the messengers for exposing the failures of its leadership.
“You cannot sack spokespersons for telling Nigerians the truth about a government that has failed on virtually every front. Hassan Alwan did not invent the rot; he merely brought to public attention what Nigerians have long suspected: that under President Tinubu, public office has become a marketplace and governance a business venture for recovering political investments.”
The ADC-PCC said the APC’s response amounts to an attempt to suppress an embarrassing revelation instead of addressing the fundamental issues raised by it.
“Instead of providing convincing answers to the grave allegations of appointment racketeering, the APC has chosen to shoot the messenger, dissolve its mouthpieces and hope that silence will make the scandal disappear. It will not.”
“No new spokesperson, no fresh propaganda strategy and no campaign jamboree can whitewash the failures of this administration. Nigerians are confronted daily with hunger, insecurity, corruption, unemployment and a collapsing confidence in government. Changing the people who communicate these failures does not change the reality confronting the country.”
Our correspondent reports that this is not the first time those managing the public image of the presidency have clashed with the early case being between the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga and the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Ajuri Ngelali. Later when Daniel Bwala was appointed special Adviser on Media and Special Communications and foru days later was redesignated Special Adviser on Policy Communiations when there was also a disagreement over the role he is supposed to play until it was resolved.
What You Should Know
The ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) has reorganized its media structure, stripping previous spokespersons of their specific roles and consolidating communication under a newly streamlined directorate. Moving forward, only three designated officials are officially authorized to speak on behalf of the campaign, a move designed to restore discipline following recent controversial media broadcasts and public gaffes.
- Positive Impact: Streamlining communication helps eliminate conflicting messages from multiple sources, ensuring the party presents a more unified, disciplined, and coordinated public image.
- Potential Concerns: Restricting access to information and concentrating speaking roles among a select few may spark accusations of censorship, reduce transparency, and draw further criticism from political opposition parties.
