Atiku appoints Buhari’s aide Onochie Deputy DG Technical, Systems of ADC Campaign Council
*As El-Rufai Support Group DG, Uche Diala, named campaign spokesperson
By KEMI KASUMU
She will serve alongside other officials overseeing the Technical and Systems Directorate, including those responsible for election operations and management, polling unit operations, voter intelligence, monitoring and evaluation, and the campaign situation room.
Former Vice President and presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, has appointed former presidential aide Lauretta Onochie as Deputy Director-General, Technical and Systems, of the party’s Presidential Campaign Council for the 2027 general elections.
Onochie, who served in the media structure of the Muhammadu Buhari administration, is among the prominent figures named in the campaign council unveiled by Atiku on Thursday, September 24, 2026.
She will serve alongside other officials overseeing the Technical and Systems Directorate, including those responsible for election operations and management, polling unit operations, voter intelligence, monitoring and evaluation, and the campaign situation room.
Also appointed to the campaign structure is the Director-General of the El-Rufai Support Group, Dr Uche Diala, who was named one of the campaign council’s spokespersons alongside Kenneth Okonkwo, Keturah King, Nana Kazaure and Alhaji Dahiru Maishanu.
Onochie, a prominent member of the Buhari administration’s media team between 2015 and 2023, later served as Chairman of the Board of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC).
Her appointment adds her political communication and campaign experience to the technical and systems arm of the ADC presidential campaign.
The newly constituted campaign council is chaired by Kashim Ibrahim-Imam, while former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai is Deputy Chairman. Senator Austin Akobundu was appointed Director-General and Campaign Manager.
Other notable appointments include former Edo State Governor John Oyegun as Chairman of the Campaign Advisory Board, former Sokoto State Governor Aminu Waziri Tambuwal among the Senior Campaign Advisers, publisher Dele Momodu as Deputy Director-General, Media and Communications, and former Kogi State Senator Dino Melaye as Deputy Director-General, Contact and Mobilisation.
The campaign structure is divided into six major operational directorates: Administration, Operations, Media and Communications, Contact and Mobilisation, Diversity and Support Groups, and Technical and Systems.
According to the campaign, the structure is designed to focus on issues including the cost of living, unemployment, insecurity and declining purchasing power.
The unveiling formally establishes Atiku’s campaign machinery ahead of the 2027 presidential election, in which he is contesting on the ADC platform.
