The ADC Presidential Campaign has entered a new phase of organisation, coordination and nationwide mobilisation with Senator Augustine Okwudiri Akobundu assuming responsibility as Director-General of the Presidential Campaign Council
With the council already unveiled, the focus now shifts from composition to execution — from assembling the campaign structure to activating it across the country
At the centre of that task is Senator Akobundu, a retired Colonel of the Nigerian Army, former Minister of State for Defence, experienced party administrator and serving Senator representing Abia Central Senatorial District
His mandate is clear: coordinate the political, organisational and operational machinery of the campaign, align its structures across the federation and ensure that every arm of the Presidential Campaign Council works with discipline, coherence and purpose
It is a responsibility for which his career has prepared him extensively
From the discipline and strategic demands of the military to national party administration, executive public service and legislative representation, Senator Akobundu brings to the assignment decades of experience in leadership, organisation and public service
A graduate of the Nigerian Defence Academy, Akobundu served the Nigerian Army in several command and staff appointments before retiring as a Colonel in 2000 His military career exposed him to the demands of strategic planning, coordination and disciplined execution.
Following his retirement from the military, he built a career spanning business, politics and public administration
He served as Chairman of the Board of Management of the University College Hospital, Ibadan, and later as Minister of State for Defence under President Goodluck Jonathan in 2015
His political experience is equally extensive
Over the years, Senator Akobundu has occupied several senior positions in party administration, including National Vice Chairman and South-East Zonal Chairman, as well as National Organising Secretary
That background in political organisation and national party management is central to the task before him: harmonising campaign structures, coordinating stakeholders, strengthening field operations and ensuring that the various components of the Presidential Campaign Council function as one national organisation
Today, Senator Akobundu represents Abia Central Senatorial District in the National Assembly, where his legislative and constituency work has focused on education, infrastructure, healthcare, youth empowerment and human-capital development
His interventions have included scholarships, vocational and digital-skills programmes, medical outreaches and infrastructure initiatives across his constituency
He has also used the floor of the Senate to raise issues of critical infrastructure, including the Umuahia–Ikot Ekpene Federal Road
Senator Akobundu formally joined the African Democratic Congress in March 2026 and has since become part of the party’s national political structure
His appointment as Director-General therefore brings together the experience of a soldier, administrator, politician and legislator at the operational centre of the presidential campaign
The campaign structure has been unveiled
The leadership is in place
The task before the Director-General is now to convert that structure into a coordinated national campaign operation