The African Democratic Congress Presidential Campaign Council (ADC-PCC) has launched a scathing critique of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu following reports that he plans to lead campaign rallies in only 12 states rather than touring all 36 states of the federation ahead of the 2027 general elections.
​Addressing journalists at a media briefing on Friday, October 16, 2026, at 11:30 AM at the party’s campaign headquarters in Abuja, National Spokesperson for the campaign council, Kola Ologbondiyan, described the President’s selective itinerary as a act of political cowardice and outright contempt for the electorate.
The ADC-PCC alleged that President Tinubu is avoiding direct engagement across all 36 states because he fears public anger over mounting economic distress, food inflation, and pervasive national insecurity.
Responding to explanations from the presidency that a restricted schedule, spanning from late October 2026 to January 2027, is necessary to keep governance functioning, the opposition council dismissed the rationale as a thin excuse.
The campaign council cited past incumbents who maintained national travel commitments during reelection bids, arguing that previous administrations balanced official state duties without abandoning full-country campaigns.
​”He knows Nigerians are hungry and angry. He knows that the average Nigerian finds it difficult to eat and to be secure. Having failed on key fronts, he is afraid to face Nigerians and is running away from the reality he created. This decision is a direct insult to the voters in the states he plans to skip.” according to Kola Ologbondiyan, National Spokesperson, ADC Presidential Campaign Council.
​”Only an administration terrified of its own record would think it can hide behind a selective itinerary rather than directly account to the people. A president cannot ask for four more years from citizens in states he deems too politically inconvenient to visit.”said Ike Abonyi, Director of Media and Publicity, ADC Campaign Council
​The friction follows the formal inauguration of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential Campaign Council on Thursday, October 15, 2026, at the Presidential Villa in Abuja. During the event, President Tinubu signaled a streamlined, 12-state schedule starting with an opening rally in Kaduna on October 24, 2026, and concluding with a major event in Lagos in early January 2027.
​Defending the limited tour, President Tinubu emphasized his executive responsibilities:
​”Nigeria needs more attention now than ever before. The responsibility of this office does not pause. The job must go on, we have bills to pay and foreign investors to attract. Governance cannot be grounded simply because an election is approaching.”
The opposition coalition has declared its intention to maximise campaign stops in every state and territory across the country, contrasting their full-ground tour against the ruling party’s targeted strategy.
