President Bola Tinubu has blamed past leaders, particularly opposition figures for the hunger and poverty in the country as he promised Nigerians prosperity if re-elected for a second term in 2027.
Speaking at the All Progressives Congress presidential campaign flag-off at Ranchers Bees Stadium in Kaduna on Saturday, Tinubu said his administration was working to address the economic challenges facing Nigerians.
The Independent National Electoral Commission has scheduled the presidential election for January 16, 2027.
President Tinubu, Kaduna State Governor Uba Sani and other serving APC members of the state and National Assemblies are seeking re-election.
The rally in Kaduna marks the ruling party’s official commencement of its campaign for the 2027 general elections.
The President said his government continued to pay salaries regularly, while praising APC governors for their performance and development efforts in their respective states.
He stated, “I hear my opponents talking about hunger. Who created it? They did. They created hunger and poverty. We are trying to eradicate them. We pay salaries regularly. Our governors are working, and I am proud of them. They are developing their states.
“To you, the children of our country, we promise prosperity in our second term. You will not regret going to the polls. Do you have your PVC? Do you have your PVC? Raise your hands!
“This is not a matter of anger. Our opponents are angry because they have nothing to offer you but heckling. We have prosperity, consistency, growth, recovery and opportunity. I assure you of that.”
Tinubu urged Nigerians to vote for him and other All Progressives Congress candidates in the January 16, 2027, elections, calling for the party’s candidates to emerge victorious in governorship, senatorial, House of Representatives and state assembly contests.
He stated, “Thank you for this massive turnout. It is a promise. Come January 2027, on January 16, you must go out en masse to elect me again. APC all the way! APC for our governors, APC for our senators, APC for our honourable members of the House of Representatives, and APC for all the Houses of Assembly.
“Your prosperity is here. Your good fortune is in your hands. Your fingerprints will reflect this. Be careful. Watch them. Do not let them lie to you.
“What is past is past. Fuel subsidy is in our past. No more corruption, no more falsification of invoices, no more lies and no more smuggling. We are ushering in a new era under the President. I promise you once again a better tomorrow.”
In his remarks, the Vice-President Kashim Shettima urged Nigerians to renew the mandate of the APC, saying the party had delivered on its promises and deserved another term in office.
Shettima said the Tinubu administration had sustained key infrastructure projects initiated by previous governments, including the Abuja-Kaduna-Kano Road, Kano-Maradi railway and Lagos-Kano rail corridor.
He also highlighted the administration’s investments in education in Kaduna State, citing the establishment of the Federal University of Applied Sciences in Kachia, the Federal University of Education in Zaria and vocational institutes that he said had produced more than 4,000 graduates.
The Vice-President stated, “We didn’t win the 2023 election because we were wise, far from it. We didn’t win that election because we were rich, and we didn’t win that election because we were educated. We didn’t win that election because we were the best speakers. We won because you saw the options before you and knew, without a doubt, that the alternative was a calamity.”
Shettima said the APC was confident of seeking re-election in Kaduna State because it had fulfilled its promises to the people and remained committed to its pledges.
“President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is one person who has persistently and fiercely identified with the North over the years.
“This is the reason why we have all stood with him to declare our support for Alhaji Bola Tinubu. This is a man of honour, a man of integrity and a man of honour.”
In their sperate remark, the Kaduna State Governor, Uba Sani, and the Director-General of the APC Presidential Campaign Council, Abdulaziz Yari, expressed confidence that Northern Nigerians would vote for President Tinubu in the January 16, 2027, presidential election.
Sani highlighted the Federal Government’s road projects and security interventions in the North, particularly Kaduna State.
He cited the ongoing reconstruction of the Abuja-Kaduna-Kano Expressway, which he said was 95 per cent complete, as well as the Kaduna-Birnin Gwari Road project and the reopening of schools and primary healthcare centres previously closed due to insecurity.
Sani said President Tinubu had fulfilled his promises to reconstruct the 123-kilometre Kaduna-Birnin Gwari Road and tackle insecurity along the corridor.
He said N117bn had been released for the project, which was abandoned for over 40 years.
In his remarks, the Director-General of the APC Presidential Campaign Council, Abdulaziz Yari, said the Tinubu administration had recorded progress in the economy, citing subsidy removal, exchange rate changes and other economic measures.
Yari said the APC would campaign on its record in infrastructure, healthcare, education and human capital development, adding that Northern leaders were mobilising traditional rulers and religious leaders to support Tinubu’s re-election bid in 2027.
He stated, “We Nigerians, at the head of this campaign, are going to campaign with our records. Our records are there. The infrastructure is there. What you did in health, education and human capital development is there. The students are there. The transparent cash and conditional cash transfers are also there for men and women.
“Mr President, this is where we are. We are committed. We have been engaging all and sundry, our traditional rulers, our ulama and our imams, to understand the importance of your return in 2027 for continuity, for the peace of this country and for Nigeria.
“We believe in you, and those people believe in us. All the shakers and movers of this part of the country are here. In the northern part of the country, anybody who is not here today, Mr President, then there is nobody there. We are here.
“We are committed to justice. We are committed to what we are taught to be, and that is how we are going to be.”
The Kaduna rally marked the official launch of President Tinubu’s 2027 re-election campaign.
Those in attendance included Senate President Godswill Akpabio; Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas; First Lady Oluremi Tinubu; wife of the Vice-President, Hajia Nana Kashim Shettima; state governors; ministers; senators; members of the House of Representatives; former governors; other government appointees; APC National Chairman, Prof. Nentawe Yilwatda; and National Secretary, Senator Ajibola Basiru, among others.
Thousands of APC supporters from across the country arrived as early as 7am, while major roads leading to the stadium were barricaded.
The stadium’s seating sections and main bowl were filled with supporters dressed in colourful APC-branded T-shirts, caps, hijabs and traditional outfits bearing images of Tinubu, party logos and those of their governors.
They sang, danced, waved party flags and chanted slogans in Hausa and English, including “Tinubu Again,” “Tinubu Continuity” and “Asiwaju, Uba Sani for Second Term.”
The atmosphere was lively as supporters gathered to demonstrate their backing for Tinubu’s re-election bid.