President Bola Tinubu’s push for a second term has effectively begun after a key ally moved to secure the ruling party’s nomination documents ahead of the 2027 elections.
James Faleke, the lawmaker representing Ikeja Federal Constituency, collected the All Progressives Congress (APC) expression of interest and nomination forms on the president’s behalf, marking the first formal step in Tinubu’s re-election process.
The documents were presented at the APC national secretariat in Abuja by the party’s National Organising Secretary, Suleiman Argungu. Faleke, who founded the Tinubu Support Groups, received the forms in the presence of party officials, reinforcing his role as a central figure in the president’s political machinery.
The nomination and expression of interest forms cost N100 million, a fee already paid for Tinubu, signalling strong backing from within the ruling party as early positioning intensifies ahead of the polls.
Images from the event showed Faleke alongside Argungu and other APC leaders during the official handover, a moment widely interpreted as the symbolic launch of Tinubu’s 2027 campaign trajectory.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has scheduled the presidential and national assembly elections for January 16, 2027, with governorship and state assembly elections to follow on February 6.
Under INEC’s timetable, political parties are expected to conduct primaries and resolve pre-election disputes between April 23 and May 30, 2026 — a crucial window that will shape the final list of candidates.
Campaign activities for presidential and national assembly races are set to begin on August 19, while campaigns for governorship and state assembly contests will start on September 9, setting the stage for what is expected to be an intense electoral cycle.
