El-Rufai, Hayatu-Deen Make Atiku’s Presidential campaign Council

El-Rufai

 

OpenLife News reports that former Vice President and presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress, ADC, Atiku Abubakar, has appointed former Kaduna State governor, Mallam Nasir el-Rufai and economist and former PDP presidential aspirant, Mohammed Hayatu-Deen, to his presidential campaign council ahead of the 2027 general elections.

A statement from Atiku Media Office on Wednesday, seen by PREMIUM TIMES, said the appointments take immediate effect.

According to the statement, el-Rufai was named as Director-General of the Atiku/ADC Presidential Campaign Council, while Hayatu-Deen was appointed as Chairman of the Campaign Policy and Strategy Committee.

The statement said the appointments were part of Atiku’s broad-based strategy to build a national coalition capable of unseating the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC.

“His Excellency Atiku Abubakar has approved the appointment of Mallam Nasir Ahmad el-Rufai as Director-General of the ADC Presidential Campaign Council and Alhaji Mohammed Hayatu-Deen as Chairman, Policy, Strategy and Manifesto Committee.

“The appointments reflect the Waziri’s desire to unite experienced, competent and reform-minded Nigerians across party lines to rescue and rebuild Nigeria,” the statement said.

It described el-Rufai as a tested administrator and reformer who would bring his vast experience in governance, public sector reform and electoral mobilisation to lead the campaign, while Hayatu-Deen, a former Managing Director of FSB International Bank and presidential aspirant in the 2023 PDP primaries, would lead policy innovation.

The development comes amid realignments in the opposition, with Atiku recently defecting to the ADC to pursue his presidential ambition on a new platform.

El-Rufai, who recently fell out with the APC leadership and has been associating with opposition coalition meetings, is seen as a strategic northern asset with a strong political structure in the North-West.Hayatu-Deen, respected in private sector circles, is expected to anchor Atiku’s economic blueprint.

Sources close to the Atiku camp said the full campaign council list, which will include representatives from all six geopolitical zones, youth and women leaders, and key coalition partners, will be released next week, with inauguration scheduled for early October in Abuja.