The All Progressives Congress Presidential Campaign Council has reorganised its media and strategic communications directorate, restricting official public communication to three designated spokespersons.
The changes were announced on Wednesday in a statement by the Chief of Staff to the President and Deputy Director-General (Administration) of the council, Femi Gbajabiamila.
Gbajabiamila said the restructuring was aimed at improving coordination, discipline and effectiveness in the campaign’s public communication.
“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,” the statement said.
Under the new arrangement, only three officials are authorised to speak on behalf of the council.
They are the Director-General of the campaign, Senator Abdulaziz Yari; the Minister of Solid Minerals, Dele Alake, who will serve as the official spokesperson; and the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Alhaji Mohammed Idris.
Gbajabiamila said all previously announced spokespersons would remain within the media and strategic communications directorate but would no longer speak in that capacity.
“All previously announced persons in this capacity shall henceforth dissolve into the Directorate of Media and Strategic Communications as members,” he stated.
The council also urged media organisations, particularly radio and television stations, to comply with the new arrangement.
“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 came a day after a controversial television appearance by APC campaign spokesperson Alwan Hassan on Channels Television’s Politics Today programme.
During Tuesday’s interview, Hassan discussed the functionality of Nigeria’s 112 emergency number and challenged the programme’s anchor, Seun Okinbaloye, to call the number to demonstrate that it was working.
However, repeated attempts to connect to the emergency line during the live broadcast were unsuccessful.
Hassan suggested that a network problem might have affected the calls, but the presenter questioned the explanation.
The APC campaign council’s announcement followed the incident, although Gbajabiamila did not directly link the restructuring to the television interview.
Hassan had earlier described the emergency number as one of the achievements of the President Bola Tinubu-led administration during the programme.
With the latest changes, the council has established a narrower channel for official communication, while other previously designated spokespersons will continue as members of its media and strategic communications directorate.