Kwankwaso faults inclusion of Zacch, budget office DG in APC campaign council

Vice-presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Musa Rabiu Kwankwaso, has criticised the inclusion of senior government officials Zacch Adedeji and Taminu Yakubu in the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential campaign council ahead of the 2027 general election.

The APC on Saturday unveiled a 108-member campaign council for President Bola Tinubu’s re-election bid, naming former Zamfara State governor and Senator representing Zamfara West, Abdulaziz Yari, as director-general and Imo State Governor Hope Uzodimma as secretary.

The party also appointed Yakubu, director-general of the Budget Office of the Federation, as treasurer, while Adedeji, executive chairman of the Nigeria Revenue Service (NRS), was named deputy director of fundraising.

Reacting in a statement on Sunday, Kwankwaso said the appointments raise questions about the neutrality and independence expected of public institutions responsible for managing the country’s finances and revenue.

According to him, officials heading critical government agencies should be able to operate above partisan politics in order to maintain public confidence.

“The leadership of critical public institutions demands neutrality, integrity and public confidence. It is therefore legitimate to ask whether the responsibilities of senior officials entrusted with managing public revenue and national finances can appropriately coexist with senior partisan campaign roles,” Kwankwaso said.

He further described the composition of the campaign council as troubling given the economic difficulties confronting Nigerians.

Kwankwaso pointed to rising food prices, unemployment, insecurity and the pressure on businesses and farmers, arguing that millions of Nigerians continue to struggle while essential sectors such as education and healthcare remain under strain.

He urged Nigerians to reject what he described as “continued oppression” and demand governance that is accountable and focused on improving the welfare of citizens.

The NDC vice-presidential candidate also appealed to Yari to reconsider his decision to lead the APC campaign council, saying the former governor understands the challenges facing the people of Zamfara and the wider North-West.

Kwankwaso argued that Yari, having served as governor of Zamfara, would be familiar with the effects of insecurity, poverty, unemployment, displacement and the destruction of livelihoods in the region.

“I therefore will be surprised if, in his good conscience, he will lead a campaign whose principal objective is to secure the continuation of a government under which many of the people he once governed, and other innocent Nigerians, remain trapped in these challenges,” he said.

Kwankwaso further framed the 2027 election as a contest between Nigerians struggling with hardship and those he accused of benefiting from the system responsible for the country’s current challenges.

He said the election would be “a struggle between the oppressed Nigerian masses and those who have benefited from, defended and sustained the system responsible for their hardship.”