Asiwaju Bola Tinubu

 Asiwaju Bola Tinubu's campaign for president of the All Progressives Congress said on Friday that Ilorin, the capital of Kwara State in the country's North Central region, had been selected as the official port to open their campaign.


One of the party's top brass (name withheld) who was present at the Wednesday tripartite meeting with the members of the APC National Working Committee, the Presidential Campaign Council, and the Progressive Governors Forum verified this.

The insider, who claimed to be a supporter of Tinubu, told our correspondent that the North Central region in general, and Ilorin, in particular, were both agreed upon by the stakeholders and the presidential candidate.

At the three-hour-long private meeting, which took place at the Transcorp Hilton in Abuja, there was a lot of traffic and security personnel present.


Among those present were Kano State Governor Abdullahi Ganduje, Plateau State Governor Simon Lalong, Speaker of the House of Representatives Femi Gbajabiamila, Tinubu's running mate Senator Kashim Shettima, Chairman of the Progressive Governors Forum Atiku Bagudu, Deputy Director General of the PCC Adams Oshimhole, and Kano State Senator Abdullahi Adamu.


Festus Keyamo, the spokesperson for the Presidential Campaign Council, told reporters following the meeting that an "area" had been chosen for the campaign to start, but he would not reveal it.


We have decided on the area where the campaign will start, but I won't tell you where just yet. In order to support the party's leaders, we have also addressed all of the fundamental issues. No date has been set as of yet (for the PCC inauguration). But sooner than you may expect, we will make that known.


When questioned about why the candidate and APC stakeholders hadn't decided on a suitable date for the campaign and PCC inauguration, Keyamo acknowledged that no firm date had been decided.


According to him, a political campaign needs to employ a deliberate and strategic approach to make sure no opportunity is missed.

However, the source—a supporter of Tinubu—told our correspondent that after careful permutation, the lot fell on Kwara State.


"The candidate and the stakeholders discussed deliberately on the subject and analyzed the odds before they ultimately agreed on the option of North Central in general and Ilorin in particular," he said.


"It will serve as the launch pad for our campaign before we expand to other regions.

However, a date has not yet been decided.


Both Keyamo and the PCC Director of Media and Publicity, Bayo Onanuga, resisted providing information when asked on Friday to confirm whether the campaign is actually commencing from Ilorin.


They did not refute or confirm the report.

We cannot confirm anything at this time, Keyamo stated. There is no formal release on that, even if it is not a disclaimer.


Onanuga's viewpoint on the subject was similarly unaltered.


Why don't you hold off? The event will let everyone know. I am unable to provide you any confirmation on this. Wait till we release the manifesto and PCC this week, you guys (media). We intend to start by doing that," he said.