The All Progressives Congress Presidential Campaign Council has announced the dissolution of its previously constituted spokespersons, with responsibility for official campaign communication now vested in three principal officials.
The council said only its Director-General, Senator Abdulaziz Yari; Minister of Solid Minerals, Dele Alake; and Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, are authorised to speak on its behalf.
The decision was contained in a statement issued by the Chief of Staff to the President and Deputy Director-General (Administration) of the council, Femi Gbajabiamila.
According to the statement, the reorganisation is intended to ensure “more cohesive, disciplined, and effective public engagement.”
Under the new arrangement, all individuals previously authorised to speak for the campaign will become ordinary members of the Directorate of Media and Strategic Communications.
The council further called on broadcast organisations, particularly radio and television stations, to familiarise themselves with the revised communication framework and ensure compliance.
According to the council, other individuals may be assigned to represent the campaign at media engagements on an ad hoc basis, depending on specific needs.
The revised arrangement consolidates the campaign’s public communication responsibilities under Yari, Alake and Idris, effectively discontinuing the previous system in which several individuals were authorised to speak for the council.
News reports that the directive comes hours after Nigeria’s emergency number, promoted by Alwan Hassan, a spokesperson for the APC Presidential Campaign Council, failed to connect when it was tested live on television on Tuesday night.
The availability of Nigeria’s 112 emergency hotline came under scrutiny during Hassan’s appearance on Channels Television’s Politics Today, after anchor Seun Okinbaloye challenged him to prove that the service was functional.
Hassan responded by asking Okinbaloye to dial the number on speakerphone, maintaining that it provides access to emergency assistance for medical emergencies, security threats and other distress situations.
“Seun, let me tell you something that you don’t know: take your phone and call 112. Nobody knows about this; we used to hear it in America: 911,” he said.
“Call 112. Now put it on speaker, and they’ll ask you what your emergency is, either health, security, distress call, whatever. Call 112. Welcome to Nigeria. Call 112 and put it on speaker. Thanks to APC government.”
When Okinbaloye asked if the emergency number was an achievement, Hassan answered in the affirmative and urged him to make the call.
Hassan explained that calls would be routed to emergency response centres in the caller’s location, where operators would ask about the nature of the emergency and dispatch the appropriate responders.
The spokesperson said the system could connect callers requiring ambulance services with relevant agencies, while the police would be contacted in cases of robbery and other security emergencies.
Hassan also said the federal government is working to introduce a dashboard that would enable emergency response centres to identify callers’ locations without requiring them to provide their addresses.
However, when Okinbaloye dialled 112 several times during the live broadcast, the call failed to connect.
“Not ringing just yet,” the anchor said as he initiated the call.
Hassan insisted that the number was functional, saying, “It will ring. It will ring, and they will pick.”
After further attempts, Okinbaloye told Hassan: “This number is not working.”
Hassan maintained that the line was operational but suggested that a network problem at the television station might be responsible for the failed calls.
“It is working even without network,” he said.
Okinbaloye, however, said he had dialled other numbers from the same location, and they connected, questioning why the emergency line was not working.
”Because you are APC?” the anchor asked. AccessServices
“Not because I’m APC,” Hassan replied.
The exchange became more contentious when Okinbaloye asked whether the failed demonstration could leave viewers questioning Hassan’s claims, especially after he had promoted the emergency hotline as one of the APC administration’s achievements.
Hassan dismissed any suggestion of dishonesty, maintaining that a possible network glitch was responsible for the unsuccessful call.
Okinbaloye then turned to viewers, asking them to dial 112 and share their experiences with him on X.
The Channels Television anchor later disclosed that he had received several responses from viewers claiming that the number was not working
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