Heads of federal agencies and parastatals have formed a coalition to support President Bola Tinubu’s 2027 re-election bid, proposing a complementary campaign structure focused on grassroots mobilisation, messaging and election planning.
The group, operating under the Forum of Chief Executives of Federal Parastatals, announced the initiative during a meeting with APC National Chairman, Prof. Nentawe Yilwatda, and members of the party’s National Working Committee in Abuja.
The forum said its proposed structure would focus on grassroots mobilisation, campaign messaging, election planning, monitoring and management ahead of the 2027 general elections.
The forum’s chairman and Director-General of the National Board for Technology Incubation, Dr Kazeem Kolawole Raji, said the organisation was established as a platform for collaboration, knowledge-sharing, coordination and exchange of ideas among heads of government agencies.
“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 said public institutions had a responsibility to ensure that Nigerians understood government programmes and achievements.
“Where government has delivered, we should communicate it,” Raji said, adding that the forum was prepared to work with relevant stakeholders to improve public understanding of government programmes, achievements and opportunities.
The forum’s Media and Publicity Committee chairman, Otunba Biodun Ajiboye, who is also Executive Secretary and Chief Executive Officer of the National Institute for Cultural Orientation, described the initiative as a technical partnership intended to complement the work of the APC Presidential Campaign Council.
Ajiboye said the forum had access to professionals and administrators who could contribute to election planning and monitoring, mobilisation, media management, strategic messaging and campaign coordination.
He stressed that the forum did not intend to duplicate or compete with the Presidential Campaign Council, but would provide additional technical capacity and extend its reach.
According to Ajiboye, the focus of the 2027 campaign would differ from that of 2023, when the APC’s message centred largely on what its candidate intended to do if elected.
By 2027, he said, the conversation would shift from “what we will do” to “what we have done.”
He argued that federal agency chiefs were positioned to communicate the administration’s record because their institutions are directly involved in implementing government programmes and policies across different sectors.
“The communication apparatus for an election and campaign cannot be left to the PCC alone,” Ajiboye said, while stressing that the proposed structure would be complementary.
He also praised the Tinubu administration’s approach to governance, saying some of its reforms showed a willingness to address structural challenges despite their potential political costs.
The forum said it would return to the APC leadership with detailed technical proposals and practical ideas on how its members could contribute to the 2027 campaign.
Responding to the delegation, Yilwatda welcomed the initiative and described its formation as timely.
He said the party recognised the potential role federal agency chiefs could play in political communication and grassroots engagement and encouraged wider participation by heads of relevant federal parastatals.
Yilwatda said electoral campaigns require different stakeholders to understand and perform their respective roles, identifying grassroots mobilisation as an important component of the party’s preparations.
He also welcomed the proposal for the forum to develop a structure that could complement the Presidential Campaign Council by taking campaign information and government messaging closer to communities.
The APC leadership, he said, was prepared to engage with the forum and explore broader interaction with federal agency chiefs as preparations for the 2027 election continue.
The meeting resulted in 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 structure.
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