APC blames El-Rufai for Tinubu’s 2023 loss in Kaduna

The Kaduna state chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has blamed the leadership style of former Governor Nasir El-Rufai for President Bola Tinubu’s failure to win the state in the 2023 presidential election.

The state APC publicity secretary, Mohamed Sani Haruna, said the outcome of the election was a referendum on El-Rufai’s administration, which he accused of alienating residents through policies such as demolitions of houses and markets, the dismissal of thousands of workers and a lack of regard for indigenous communities.

Haruna made the remarks during a media parley in Kaduna, where he also expressed confidence that the state would deliver massive support for Tinubu’s re-election bid in 2027.

He said the current administration of Governor Uba Sani had adopted a more inclusive approach by respecting the different ethnic and religious groups in the state, unlike what he described as the divisive politics of the previous administration.

According to him, Uba Sani’s leadership has helped unite Kaduna, which he described as a miniature Nigeria, adding that the state was ready to welcome Tinubu for the APC presidential campaign flag-off scheduled for October 24, 2026.

Haruna said the governor had pledged to deliver two million votes for Tinubu in the 2027 presidential election, expressing confidence that the party’s grassroots structures would mobilise supporters across the state.

He also argued that Kaduna’s selection to host the campaign flag-off demonstrated Tinubu’s solidarity with the North, recalling that the president had supported northern presidential aspirants at different times before his own emergence as president.

The APC spokesman further claimed that the party now controlled all elected positions across Kaduna’s 255 wards, 23 local government areas, 16 federal constituencies and three senatorial districts, arguing that the state had become politically united under the party.

His remarks followed questions about the APC’s performance in the 2023 elections, when opposition parties won several legislative seats in Kaduna despite the ruling party’s control of the state government at the time.

Haruna maintained that the current political situation was different, insisting that Uba Sani’s style of governance had strengthened the party’s standing and positioned it for a stronger performance in 2027.