Vice President Kashim Shettima has urged voters in Kaduna State to renew the mandate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), saying the party is seeking re-election based on projects and policies delivered under President Bola Tinubu’s administration.
Mr Shettima made the appeal on Saturday at the APC campaign rally in Kaduna, where he highlighted the administration’s investments in education and infrastructure as evidence that the party had kept its promises to the state.
The vice president said the administration had worked to restore Kaduna’s position as a centre of learning through the establishment and upgrade of educational institutions.
“We promise to bring back the glory of Kaduna State as the national centre of learning. Didn’t we deliver on that?” he asked supporters at the rally.
He cited the establishment of the Federal University of Applied Sciences and the transition of the Federal University of Education, Zaria, as part of the administration’s interventions in the state.
Mr Shettima also mentioned the establishment of vocational institutes in Rigachikun, Soba and Samaru, saying more than 4,000 people had graduated from the institutions.
He said the administration had also expanded education funding through the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND), which he said had benefited hundreds of thousands of students in universities across the country.
The vice president further listed major infrastructure projects involving the North, including the Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano (AKK) gas pipeline, Kano-Maradi railway, Lagos-Kano rail corridor and the Abuja-Kaduna-Kano road.
He also cited ongoing work on the Sokoto-Badagry highway, describing it as a project that would create opportunities for agricultural production and economic activity.
Mr Shettima said the APC had demonstrated its commitment to continuity by completing or advancing projects initiated by previous administrations.
He also appealed to voters in the North to support Mr Tinubu’s bid for a second term, arguing that the President had demonstrated political support for northern leaders over the years.
He recalled Mr Tinubu’s support for Atiku Abubakar when the former vice president left the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), as well as his backing of Nuhu Ribadu in the 2011 presidential election and Muhammadu Buhari in the 2015 and 2019 elections.
Mr Shettima said Mr Tinubu’s relationship with the North therefore predated his presidency.
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The vice president also praised Kaduna Governor Uba Sani, saying his administration had helped promote unity across the state and spread the benefits of governance beyond metropolitan Kaduna.
He urged the people of Kaduna to maintain their support for the APC at the federal and state levels.
“We have the courage to come to Kaduna today because we have kept our promise to never relegate you,” he said.
Also speaking at the rally, the Director-General of the APC Presidential Campaign Council and former Zamfara State governor, Abdul’aziz Yari, claimed that about two million farmers had committed to supporting Tinubu’s re-election.
Mr Yari said the administration’s policies on agriculture, the economy, education, healthcare and social intervention programmes would form part of the APC’s campaign message ahead of the 2027 election.
He said the party would campaign on its record rather than promises, citing what he described as improvements in the exchange rate, foreign reserves and other economic indicators.
Mr Yari, a serving senator, also pledged support for Mr Tinubu across Northern Nigeria, saying the region was committed to securing the president’s re-election in 2027.
“Northern Nigeria is 101 per cent, by God’s grace, for you, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu,” he said.
The Kaduna rally is part of the APC’s nationwide mobilisation ahead of the 2027 presidential election.
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