By Juliet Umeh
The Director-General of the Tinubu Support Group, TSG, Dr Umar Yakasai, has defended the composition of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Presidential Campaign Council, saying individuals under investigation should not be treated as guilty until convicted by a court.
Yakasai, who spoke on Arise Television, also dismissed allegations that the composition of the council was influenced by political patronage or intended to sideline some APC loyalists ahead of the 2027 general elections.
He said the list was not final and would be reviewed and expanded to accommodate other party members.
Addressing concerns over the inclusion of individuals being investigated by anti-graft agencies, Yakasai stressed the constitutional principle of presumption of innocence.
“This is a campaign council. People are not appointed to head agencies of government or ministries or agencies that deal with taxpayers’ money. They are people that will go and talk to Nigerians to vote for President Tinubu.
“Everybody has before the law a presumption of innocence. You cannot judge people to be guilty when the court has not passed any verdict,” he said.
He urged Nigerians to allow due process to take its course, warning against treating ongoing investigations as proof of wrongdoing.
Yakasai said all those listed on the campaign council were APC members, dismissing allegations that the appointments were based on patronage.
“Everybody that made that list is a member of the APC and so when you put up names as members of the presidential campaign council and all of them are APC members, I do not see where the question of patronage has come in,” he said.
On complaints over the exclusion of some prominent party members, Yakasai said campaign council lists were subject to review, updating and expansion.
“Every time a list is out, for the congress of the party, for the primaries of the party, for the presidential primaries, every time a list is out, it’s a first list and the list is subject to update, to review, to expansion,” he said.
He assured that those omitted from the initial list would be accommodated, adding that the review process was already ongoing.
Yakasai also dismissed concerns that the omission of some prominent figures could create disaffection within the party.
Referring specifically to former Minister of Aviation, Femi Fani-Kayode, he said: “The fact that this first list did not contain his name does not necessarily mean his contribution has been minimised.”
He further rejected suggestions that the controversy surrounding the campaign council reflected factionalisation within the APC.
“I do not think that it has anything to do with anything factional. That’s the voice of the opposition,” he said.
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