President Bola Tinubu on Saturday flagged off his campaign for re-election in 2027, promising Nigerians greater prosperity, growth and opportunities if returned for a second term.
The campaign rally, held at the Kaduna Township Stadium, was conducted amid tight security, with security personnel deployed at strategic locations across the city and around the venue.
The rally was attended by several governors of the All Progressives Congress (APC), party leaders and supporters from Kano, Katsina, Zamfara, Sokoto, Jigawa and Kebbi states.
Addressing thousands of supporters, Tinubu urged Nigerians to renew his mandate, saying his administration was working to address the challenges facing the country and create a better future.
He dismissed criticism by his opponents that his administration had made Nigerians poorer and hungry, blaming the situation on previous administrations.
The President cited regular payment of salaries and the development efforts of state governors as evidence of progress under his administration.
He urged Nigerians to vote for him, APC governors and other APC candidates in the January 2027 general elections.
Tinubu also reaffirmed his position on the removal of the petrol subsidy, saying the policy was now in the past, while promising to tackle corruption and fuel smuggling.
“My good people of Kaduna. It is good to be back here again. You have listened to many speeches.
“I am happy that I am here. I must thank you for participating in the past election”, the President said.
“You gave me joy to remember the victory you gave me to become President.
“I am here again to seek your mandate for the second time, to make a promise on prosperity, continuity and progress.
“I have an argument, I heard my opponent talking about hunger and poverty. Who created it? They did!
“They created hunger, they created poverty. We are trying to eradicate it. We pay salaries regularly, our governors are working. I am proud of them.
“To you the children of our country, it is a promise of second term, prosperity. We win, you will not regret…
“This is not a matter of anger. Our opponents are angry because they are failures. They have nothing to offer you…
“We have prosperity, consistency, growth, recovery and opportunities, I assure you.
“Come January 16, 2027, you must go out massively to elect me again, our APC governors, our National Assembly members and state houses of assemblies”, he said.
Speaking further, Tinubu said, “Your prosperity is here. Your future is in your hands. Be careful, don’t let them lie to you. What is past is the past.
“Fuel subsidy is in our past. No more corruption, no more smuggling of fuel…
“There is that promise of a better tomorrow.”
Also speaking, Vice President Kashim Shettima said the APC had demonstrated its commitment to national unity and development through cooperation with state governments.
Shettima said the party won the 2023 election because Nigerians believed the alternative would have been disastrous for the country.
He praised Kaduna residents for electing Governor Uba Sani, saying his administration had helped promote unity across the state.
According to him, Kaduna had become a state where residents from different communities could regard one another as brothers and sisters, with the benefits of democracy extending beyond the metropolitan area.
Shettima said the federal government had supported educational development in Kaduna through the establishment of the Federal University of Applied Sciences in Kachia and the transition of the Federal College of Education, Zaria, into the University of Education.
The Vice President said the administration had continued projects initiated by previous governments, including the Ajaokuta Kaduna Kano gas pipeline, the Kano Maradi railway, the Lagos Kano rail corridor and the Abuja Kaduna Kano Expressway.
Shettima also defended Tinubu’s political relationship with Northern Nigeria, citing his past support for northern political leaders seeking the presidency. He recalled Tinubu’s support for former Vice President Atiku Abubakar after he left the PDP.
According to him, the President had consistently demonstrated political goodwill towards the North and urged the region to reciprocate by supporting his re-election bid.
In his address, Chairman of the APC Presidential Campaign Council, Senator Abdulhazeez Yari, assured the President of massive votes from the North.
Yari dismissed claims that the federal government was working against farmers, saying about two million farmers had indicated their commitment to support Tinubu in the 2027 election because of measures taken by the administration to improve their livelihoods.
“We are going to campaign with our records. Your records are there. Infrastructure, education, human capital development, cash transfers”, Yari said.
“We have been engaging all and sundry – our traditional rulers, our ulamas and our imams to understand the importance of your return in 2027 for continuity and the peace of this country call Nigeria.
“We believe in you and those people believe in us.
All these shakers and movers of this part of the country (north) are here…… We are committed in justice, we are committed in what we are taught to be….”
He declared that, “By God’s grace, we resolved that as far as Northern Nigeria is concerned, Mr President, I need your ears.
“I want you to listen to us carefully, Northern Nigeria is 101 per cent for you, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, insha allah.
“This is the promise that we made and you are going to see it by January 16, 2027.
“Mr. President, your governors, your commanders are doing remarkably job which we are going to compliment and by God’s grace the victory is ours and we are going to defeat those who relying on AI information and those that are lying…
In his welcome address, Kaduna State Governor, Senator Uba Sani, thanked the President for significant federal government interventions in transportation, education, healthcare, agriculture, security and human capital development.
He said the interventions had brought renewed hope to Kaduna State and other parts of Northern Nigeria, urging residents to support continuity in the 2027 election.
Sani highlighted the reconstruction of the 123 kilometre Kaduna Birnin Gwari road, saying N178 billion had been released for the project, which had been abandoned for more than 40 years.
He recalled that Tinubu visited Birnin Gwari during the 2023 presidential campaign despite security concerns and promised to improve security along the corridor.
“Today, you can travel to Birnin Gwari without a police escort. That is progress, Mr President, and we thank you for it”, the governor said.
He added that more than 300 schools and over 150 primary healthcare centres that had been closed because of insecurity in Kaduna State had been reopened.
He also thanked the President for the ongoing reconstruction of the Zaria Soba Kambuwa road and the proposed Kaduna metropolitan light rail project.
Tinubu flags off 2027 re-election campaign in Kaduna, promises prosperity
