Today’s Headlines: Tinubu Inaugurates APC Campaign Council Today; Police Release Okorocha On Bail

President Bola Tinubu will today (Wednesday) inaugurate members of the 2027 presidential campaign council.

This was disclosed by the APC National Publicity Secretary, Felix Morka, in a statement on Tuesday.

In a revised release published by the APC on Monday night, the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike; Osun State Governor, Ademola Adeleke; Anambra State Governor, Chukwuma Soludo; and former Minister of Works, Babatunde Fashola, made the list.

Tinubu chairs the campaign council and has Vice President Kashim Shettima and the APC national chairman, Prof. Nentawe Yilwatda, as vice chairman I and vice chairman II, respectively.

Former governor of Zamfara State, Abdulaziz Yari, is the campaign Director-General, while the Imo State Governor, Hope Uzodimma, is the secretary.

Morka, in the statement on Tuesday evening, stated, “The All Progressives Congress has released an updated list of membership of the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu/APC 2027 Presidential Campaign Council (PCC) to be inaugurated on Wednesday, October 14, 2026, at 11:00 am, at the Banquet Hall, Presidential Villa, Abuja.

“Please note that only the leadership of the various Directorates of the Presidential Campaign Council are expected to attend the inauguration ceremony.

The Nigeria Police Force has released former Imo State Governor, Rochas Okorocha, on bail, after interrogating him over allegations of criminal conspiracy, forgery and impersonation.

Okorocha, who represented Imo West Senatorial District in the Senate, was arrested on Monday night at the REIZ Continental Hotel in Abuja and released after about an hour of questioning.

The Force Public Relations Officer, CSP Anietie Iniedu, reportedly confirmed the arrest and subsequent release, adding that the former governor had been directed to return to the Force Headquarters on Tuesday for further interrogation.

Our correspondent could however not independently confirm the details of the interrogation as the police spokesperson did not respond to phone calls made to him.

The police said investigations into the allegations were ongoing but did not disclose details of the alleged offences.

The arrest reportedly followed Okorocha’s failure to honour previous invitations by the police for questioning in connection with the investigation.

He was initially invited to appear at the Force Headquarters on September 2, but the appointment was rescheduled to September 8 following a request by his lawyers.

Three opposition political parties have backed the inclusion of their chieftains in the All Progressives Congress Presidential Campaign Council to re-elect President Bola Tinubu in the 2027 general election.

The parties — the Peoples Democratic Party, All Progressives Grand Alliance and Accord, expressed support for the roles assigned to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike; Anambra State Governor, Chukwuma Soludo; and his Osun State counterpart, Ademola Adeleke, in the ruling party’s revised campaign council.

The APC named the three politicians in its expanded Presidential Campaign Council on Tuesday, despite their affiliations with parties other than the ruling party.

This comes as the APC national chairman, Prof. Nentawe Yilwatda, while receiving the former Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Olukayode Ariwoola-led Savannah Centres for Diplomacy, Democracy and Development, on Tuesday, confirmed that the ruling party appealed to Wike, Adeleke, Soludo and other opposition figures to support and work for Tinubu’s re-election.

While Wike is a prominent PDP chieftain, Soludo belongs to APGA, while Adeleke is a member of the Accord.

Their inclusion reflects the political alliances and cross-party relationships shaping the race ahead of the 2027 presidential election.

Speaking exclusively with The PUNCH on Wike’s inclusion in the council, the National Publicity Secretary of the PDP National Caretaker Committee, Jungudo Mohammed, said the minister’s willingness to work with Tinubu was never in doubt.

President Bola Tinubu has urged the judiciary to examine prosecution strategies, discard outdated precedents and close the procedural gaps that politically exposed persons and organised crime actors use to delay or frustrate criminal trials.

Tinubu spoke on Tuesday in Abuja at the 8th annual capacity-building workshop for judges and justices, organised by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and the National Judicial Institute.

He was represented by Vice President Kashim Shettima, according to a statement signed Tuesday by the Senior Special Assistant to the Vice President on Media and Communications.

The President asked the Bench to test the country’s statutory frameworks against emerging financial crimes.

Tinubu also wanted the justice system overhauled so that no well-connected person could use technicalities to evade the law.

“Probe prosecution strategies, dismantle outdated precedents, and seal procedural gaps that politically exposed persons and organised crime actors exploit to delay or frustrate trial,” he said.

The President warned that while financial and economic crimes were an existential threat to Nigeria, corruption respected no status and spared no arm of government.

He said it was a fundamental error to frame the anti-corruption campaign as purely an executive agenda, because compromised public services affect the executive, the legislature, the judiciary and ordinary citizens alike.

He described corruption as a battle for the nation’s collective survival.

“We must no longer permit legal pyrotechnics and procedural pedantry to shelter criminality.

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