Niger State Governor Umaru Bago has declared himself the Director-General of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s re-election campaign for the 2027 general elections, announcing that Niger State will serve as the campaign headquarters.
Speaking to supporters in Minna on Tuesday, Bago described his self-appointed leadership role as an expression of loyalty to both the All Progressives Congress (APC) and President Tinubu. He labelled Niger State the “campaign hot quarters” for the president’s re-election drive.
“I’m now the self-imposed Director General of the Tinubu campaign for 2027, and Niger State is the campaign headquarters for Asiwaju 2027,” he said.
“We are Nigerians and we love Nigeria. There is an unwritten understanding in Nigeria for power to rotate between the North and the South. This has brought peace to this country.
“We completed the tenure of former President Muhammadu Buhari, and Asiwaju is just in his second year.”
Despite having profited from the party’s rule, Bago vehemently criticized APC members who are supporting a northern presidential candidate in 2027, calling out certain former governors, ministers, advisers, and commissioners for political betrayal.
He reaffirmed the “unwritten understanding” that the North and South should share power, a custom he said contributed to the stability of the country.
Regarding governance, Bago brushed aside criticism of the APC, stating that Tinubu and Buhari both inherited long-standing issues with healthcare, education, and infrastructure. He claimed that rather than focusing on issues or questioning previous leaders, his administration in Niger State was concentrating on “building, rebranding, and fixing.”
Additionally, he criticized attempts to use infrastructure and economic issues as campaign platforms, calling them “shameless” and attributing a large portion of the current state of affairs to the policies of past administrations.
