The All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential Campaign Council has withdrawn spokesperson responsibilities from Alwan Hassan and other previously appointed campaign spokespersons as part of a reorganisation of its media and communications structure ahead of the 2027 presidential election.
The decision was announced in a statement dated Wednesday, November 11, 2026, by Femi Gbajabiamila, Chief of Staff to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Deputy Director-General (Administration) of the APC Presidential Campaign Council.
Under the new arrangement, only the council’s Director-General, Senator Abdulaziz Yari; Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dele Alake; and Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, are authorised to speak officially on its behalf.
Gbajabiamila said the decision was aimed at ensuring more cohesive, disciplined and effective public engagement.
He also directed radio and television stations to take note of the changes, explaining that the campaign council would designate appropriate representatives for media appearances when necessary.
The development comes less than 24 hours after Alwan Hassan’s controversial appearance on Channels Television’s Politics Today, where he challenged the programme’s anchor, Seun Okinbaloye, to demonstrate the functionality of Nigeria’s 112 emergency number.
During the interview, Hassan had described the emergency service as an achievement of the Tinubu administration and urged the presenter to dial the number live to demonstrate how Nigerians could access emergency assistance.
However, repeated attempts to connect to the number failed during the broadcast.
Okinbaloye subsequently questioned the functionality of the service, noting that other calls from the same location were connecting.
Hassan maintained that the emergency line was operational, suggesting that a network problem might have caused the failed attempts. He also said he had successfully used the number on previous occasions.
The incident generated public reactions and renewed questions about the accessibility and reliability of Nigeria’s emergency response system.
Hassan had also attracted attention over a previous interview in which he claimed that some ministers paid billions of naira to secure their appointments. APC spokesperson Felix Morka subsequently clarified that the alleged practice referred to the previous administration and not the current government.
The campaign council’s latest announcement did not expressly identify Hassan’s television appearances as the reason for the reorganisation.
Under the new structure, Hassan and other previously appointed spokespeople will remain members of the Directorate of Media and Strategic Communications but will no longer perform official spokesperson duties.
The development comes as political parties intensify preparations for the 2027 presidential election
By Jane Eke
