By Stella Odueme
Chief Ikechukwu Cornelius Anonye, a chieftain of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), has questioned the political principles and ideological consistency of three prominent politicians reportedly appointed to coordinate aspects of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s 2027 presidential campaign.
Anonye raised the concerns in a press statement on Tuesday, following reports published on October 13, 2026, that Anambra State Governor Chukwuma Soludo of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), and Osun State Governor Ademola Adeleke of the Accord Party had been assigned campaign coordination responsibilities.
According to the reports, Soludo was named campaign coordinator for Anambra State, Wike for Rivers State and the Federal Capital Territory, while Adeleke was designated coordinator for Osun State.
Anonye said the reported appointments raised fundamental questions about party loyalty, opposition politics, political accountability and the credibility of Nigeria’s multiparty democracy.
He asked what would become of party identity and effective opposition when influential figures associated with different political parties accepted responsibilities in the presidential campaign organisation of the ruling party.
On Soludo’s reported appointment, the ADC chieftain said the development raised questions about the distinction between cooperation with the Federal Government and active participation in a ruling-party re-election campaign.
He noted that APGA had its own political history, identity and support base, adding that Nigerians deserved clarity on how the reported arrangement aligned with the party’s political direction.
While acknowledging the importance of cooperation between governments for national development, Anonye said such collaboration should not be confused with partisan campaigning.
He added that if APGA had formally adopted Tinubu as its preferred presidential candidate, as reported, the party should communicate the decision transparently to its members and supporters.
On Wike’s reported role, Anonye said his participation in the APC presidential campaign structure raised questions about the relationship between his PDP affiliation and his responsibilities in the ruling party’s re-election effort.
He asked what opposition politics meant when a prominent figure associated with an opposition party took responsibility for coordinating the presidential campaign of the ruling party.
According to him, the PDP and its supporters deserved clarity about the political direction being pursued, while Nigerians needed to understand whether opposition parties could effectively hold the government accountable under such circumstances.
He maintained that the issue went beyond ordinary political manoeuvring, describing it as a matter concerning the credibility of opposition politics and the expectations citizens placed on political parties.
Similarly, Anonye said Adeleke’s reported appointment as the APC presidential campaign coordinator for Osun State raised questions about political identity and accountability.
He argued that having secured an electoral mandate under the Accord Party, the governor owed his supporters an explanation of how the reported campaign responsibility aligned with his party’s political position.
The ADC chieftain acknowledged that politicians had the right to cooperate across party lines but insisted that voters equally had the right to question whether such decisions reflected clearly communicated political programmes or arrangements among political elites.
He stressed that the central issue was not whether politicians could work together across party lines, but whether their decisions were transparent, consistent with their parties’ declared positions and accountable to the citizens who elected them.
Anonye called for greater clarity from political leaders and parties over the reported appointments, arguing that Nigerians deserved principled political engagement rather than ambiguity over party loyalties and electoral commitments.