Olu Allen
By now, you’ve probably seen the list.
A 223-member political machine assembled by the All Progressives Congress (APC) ahead of the 2027 presidential election.
Abdulaziz Yari is Director-General. Hope Uzodimma is Secretary.
But buried in the list are two names that deserve more than a passing glance: Betta Edu and Ngozi Olejeme.
Edu, the former Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, was suspended by President Bola Tinubu in January 2024 following controversy over an alleged N585 million payment to a private account.
Tinubu directed the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to investigate the matter.
Olejeme, former chairperson of the Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF), is facing an eight-count money-laundering charge involving about N1 billion. She pleaded not guilty.
Yet both women have now been given significant responsibilities in Tinubu’s 2027 campaign structure.
Edu is Director of Women Mobilisation, while Olejeme is South-South Zonal Director for Election Planning, Coordination and Mobilisation.
That raises a legitimate question.
Not whether either woman is guilty.
That is for the courts and relevant investigative agencies to determine.
The question is what standard the APC is applying when deciding who should occupy influential positions in a campaign asking Nigerians to renew their trust in the government.
What happened to Betta Edu’s case?
The controversy surrounding Edu began in January 2024 after a memo surfaced authorising the payment of about ₦585 million in grants to a private account.
Edu denied wrongdoing and said the transaction followed due process.
But the allegation was serious enough for Tinubu to suspend her and order an EFCC investigation.
She was subsequently questioned by the EFCC and released on bail.
When Tinubu reshuffled his cabinet in October 2024, presidential spokesman Bayo Onanuga said there was “no more place” for Edu in the cabinet.
She was out of government.
Now she is back at the centre of the President’s re-election campaign.
That, by itself, does not establish wrongdoing.
But it creates an obvious accountability question: what became of the investigation?
If the matter has been resolved, Nigerians should be told how.
If Edu was cleared, the public deserves to know.
If the investigation remains unresolved, the APC should explain why someone at the centre of that controversy is now being entrusted with mobilising millions of women for the President’s re-election.
Transparency would settle the question.
Silence only prolongs it.
Then there is Ngozi Olejeme
Olejeme’s situation is more straightforward.
She is not merely the subject of an old allegation.
In October 2025, the EFCC arraigned her before the Federal High Court in Abuja on an eight-count charge bordering on money laundering, conversion, transfer and possession of proceeds of unlawful activity involving about ₦1 billion.
She pleaded not guilty, and the case is ongoing.
Yet she has now been appointed South-South Zonal Director for Election Planning, Coordination and Mobilisation in the APC’s presidential campaign council.
Again, the distinction is important.
Being charged is not being convicted.
Olejeme is entitled to the presumption of innocence.
But political appointments are not court judgments.
They are also statements about trust, credibility and political judgment.
And that is why the appointment deserves scrutiny.
The real issue is political judgment
The APC can reasonably argue that no Nigerian should be permanently excluded from public life merely because of an allegation or an unresolved case.
That would be a defensible position.
But if that is the principle, it should be applied consistently.
What is the party’s standard for political rehabilitation?
Is there a formal process?
Does an investigation have to be concluded?
Does an accused person have to be cleared?
Or is political relevance enough?
These are not unreasonable questions.
Indeed, they become more important when the individuals involved are being placed in positions where they will help persuade Nigerians to entrust the same political leadership with another four years.
This is bigger than Betta Edu and Ngozi Olejeme
The opposition has already criticised the appointments, portraying the campaign council as a rehabilitation centre for people facing unresolved corruption questions.
That criticism should not automatically become the conclusion.
But it should not simply be dismissed either.
The APC is building a formidable political organisation. Elections are won through structure, mobilisation, communication, resources and the ability to get voters to the polling booths.
The party clearly understands that.
But political organisation does not eliminate the question of credibility.
A powerful campaign machine still has to convince Nigerians that the people operating it deserve their trust.
That is where the campaign council faces a political and ethical challenge.
Not necessarily a legal one.
What should Nigerians ask?
The wrong question is:
“Are Betta Edu and Ngozi Olejeme guilty?”
That is for the courts and investigative agencies.
The better question is:
What does their appointment say about the standards the APC applies when selecting the people who will ask Nigerians for another four years of trust?
If Edu has been cleared, publish the clearance.
If her investigation remains unresolved, explain why she is considered suitable to lead women mobilisation.
If Olejeme’s ongoing case is compatible with her campaign role, let the party explain the reasoning.
Because accountability should not depend on whether someone is politically useful.
Nigeria cannot build a credible culture of accountability if public officials are condemned before trial on one occasion and quietly rehabilitated without explanation on another.
The standard should be simple:
Evidence. Due process. Transparency. Accountability.
And it should apply to APC, PDP, ADC, Labour and every other political party.
The real test of Tinubu’s 2027 campaign
The APC will campaign on its record.
The opposition will campaign on the argument that Nigerians are worse off and that the government has failed.
Ultimately, the 2027 election will be a contest between those competing narratives.
But Nigerians should also watch something else.
Watch who gets rewarded.
Watch who gets trusted.
Watch who gets brought back into the political system.
And watch what happens to unresolved corruption cases when election season arrives.
Tinubu suspended Betta Edu and ordered an investigation in the name of accountability.
Now she is back in a prominent role in his re-election campaign.
That is not proof of wrongdoing.
But it is a legitimate question.
And the APC should answer it.
Because in 2027, Nigerians will not only be choosing a president.
They will also be deciding what kind of political culture they are willing to accept.
Does political usefulness erase unanswered questions?
Or does accountability remain important even when the person involved becomes useful to the political machine?
That is the question Tinubu’s campaign council must answer.
Olu Allen writes on public affairs and advocates for good governance.
