Presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress, Atiku Abubakar, has named former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai, who remains in detention, as Deputy Chairman of the party’s National Campaign Council ahead of the 2027 general election.

The appointment was announced on Thursday in a statement by Phrank Shaibu, Director of Strategic Communications of the ADC Presidential Campaign Council. The statement said Atiku had approved a lean campaign structure to reflect the economic hardship facing Nigerians. It promised fewer offices, clearer responsibilities and no ornamental appointments.

Kashim Ibrahim-Imam will chair the council, while Senator Austin Akobundu, who represents Abia Central and served as Minister of State for Defence under former President Goodluck Jonathan, was named Director General and Campaign Manager. The council will run through six directorates, each headed by a Deputy Director General, with thirty directors assigned specific responsibilities.

Veteran journalist and publisher Dele Momodu will oversee media and communications, and former Senator Dino Melaye will handle mobilisation and public engagement. Economist Mohammed Hayatudeen will coordinate the policy team, which also includes former Central Bank of Nigeria Deputy Governor Kingsley Moghalu. A separate Campaign Advisory Council will be chaired by John Odigie-Oyegun, a former Edo State governor and pioneer national chairman of the All Progressives Congress.

El-Rufai has been in custody since February 16, when he honoured an invitation from the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission. He was re-arrested by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission and has since been arraigned on corruption and money laundering charges in Kaduna. The Department of State Services is also prosecuting him in Abuja over the alleged interception of the phone communications of National Security Adviser Nuhu Ribadu. Apart from a brief release in March to bury his mother, he has spent more than 200 days in custody, partly because he has struggled to meet the bail conditions set by the courts.

The former governor, who joined the ADC in November 2025, has denied all the allegations and described his prosecution as political persecution. A court in Abuja has fixed October 26 to rule on his application to halt the wiretapping trial. His absence from the campaign trail has been widely seen as a blow to the opposition, given his influence in the north, and his new role suggests Atiku is unwilling to write him off.