The All Progressives Congress Presidential Campaign Council has limited official media engagements to three authorised representatives following a restructuring of its Directorate of Media and Strategic Communications.
The decision, announced on Wednesday by the President’s Chief of Staff and the council’s Deputy Director-General (Administration), Femi Gbajabiamila, places the campaign’s Director-General, Senator Abdulaziz Yari; the Minister of Solid Minerals, Dele Alake; and the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, in charge of public communication.
The move means that other individuals previously designated as campaign spokespersons will no longer speak on behalf of the council but will remain members of its media and strategic communications directorate.
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Gbajabiamila said the changes were intended to improve coordination and discipline in the campaign’s public engagements.
“To ensure more cohesive, disciplined, and effective public engagement, the All Progressives Congress Presidential Campaign Council has made some changes to the structure of the Directorate of Media and Strategic Communications,” he said.
He added that all previously announced spokespersons would henceforth operate as members of the directorate.
The council also directed radio and television stations to comply with the new arrangement, saying it would designate representatives for media appearances when necessary.
“Radio and TV stations are hereby advised to take note of these changes and act accordingly. The campaign will delegate appropriate person(s) for appearances where and when necessary,” the statement added.
The restructuring was announced a day after APC campaign spokesperson Alwan Hassan appeared on Channels Television’s Politics Today programme to defend the functionality of Nigeria’s 112 emergency number.
During Tuesday’s interview, Hassan challenged the programme’s anchor, Seun Okinbaloye, to call the emergency number to demonstrate that it was working.
However, repeated attempts to connect during the live broadcast were unsuccessful.
Hassan suggested that a network problem might have affected the calls, while Okinbaloye questioned the explanation.
The campaign council did not directly link the restructuring to the television interview.
Hassan had described the emergency line as an achievement of the Tinubu administration during the programme.
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