Two ex-officials reject campaign council posts they say they never sought

Two former public officials have publicly rejected appointments to campaign councils for the 2027 elections, saying their names were published without their being consulted.

In Plateau State, Aminu Zang, a former Commissioner for Works and a chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), rejected his inclusion in the All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential and Governorship Campaign Council. His name appeared as number 254 on the published list of the council's Central Planning Committee.

Zang said nobody consulted or informed him before his name was added. "They didn't consult me. I'm not angry, so to speak," he told Punch in a telephone interview. He said he remains a committed PDP member and cannot serve on an APC campaign team.

He also made his 2027 position clear: he backs the call for President Bola Tinubu to return, but not the Plateau governor. "I am supporting Wike's position that Tinubu returns, but for the governor, no way. I'm in the PDP," he said. He referred to Chief Kefas Wungak Ropshik as the PDP's candidate, and said the party has not yet put together its campaign council.

Nwodo cites neutrality in Enugu

In Enugu State, Chief John Nwodo Jnr., a former Minister of Information and immediate past President-General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, declined a seat on the Advisory Council to the Chairman of Governor Peter Mbah's Gubernatorial Campaign Council.

In a letter dated October 28, 2026 and addressed to the governor, Nwodo said he found his name in a media advertisement shortly after returning from a trip to the United States to see his children. He thanked Mbah for the confidence but said he "most respectfully declines to hold such an office."

Nwodo said his role at Ohanaeze required him to stay out of partisan politics. "As President-General of Ohanaeze, I swore whilst I was in that office to be nonpartisan. I believe, out of that office, I should remain a father and in that respect be completely nonpartisan in our local politics in Igboland," he said.

He said he holds no membership card of any political party and intends to keep it that way. He stressed the decision was not personal, describing Mbah as a friend, and asked that his name be removed from all party notices and campaign publications.

His rejection follows a dispute in Enugu over the listing of church leaders in the APC campaign council. The Catholic Diocese of Enugu said its Auxiliary Bishop, Most Rev. Dr. Ernest Obodo, was listed without his knowledge or consent, calling the inclusion "unauthorised, misleading and unacceptable." The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) in the state also dissociated itself from the publication.

What happens next

Nwodo has asked for his name to be taken off the list. It is not yet clear whether the campaign councils will publish corrected lists. The rejections add to questions about how campaign teams are being put together ahead of the 2027 general elections.