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President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and First Lady Oluremi Tinubu have departed Abuja for Kaduna State for the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential campaign flag-off ahead of the 2027 general election.
The rally, scheduled for Saturday, October 24, is expected to bring together APC governors, members of the National Assembly, party leaders, campaign officials and supporters from across the country as the ruling party begins its nationwide mobilisation for Tinubu’s re-election bid. Blueprint reports
The Kaduna event comes amid heightened political exchanges between the APC and the opposition African Democratic Congress (ADC), with the APC Presidential Campaign Council accusing former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and the opposition party of attempting to discredit the rally through what it described as misinformation, doctored materials and fabricated documents.
APC accuses Atiku, ADC of circulating false claims
In a statement issued on Saturday, APC Presidential Campaign Council spokesperson Dele Alake accused Atiku and the ADC of allegedly coordinating a campaign to undermine the Kaduna flag-off and create a negative impression of President Tinubu, Kaduna State Governor Uba Sani and other party leaders.
Alake alleged that the purported operation involved fake news, artificial intelligence-generated content, deepfake videos and counterfeit documents circulated through social media and other platforms.
One of the issues raised by the council concerned a photograph showing a security vehicle near an APC campaign billboard in Kaduna metropolis. According to Alake, the vehicle was on routine patrol, but the photograph was allegedly presented as evidence that security personnel had been deployed specifically to protect the party’s billboards.
He also accused Atiku of amplifying a newspaper report about the incident on his official social media accounts, describing the development as part of an alleged effort to generate negative publicity ahead of the rally.
The council also dismissed a purported letter allegedly signed by Governor Uba Sani and addressed to the Director-General of the APC Presidential Campaign Council, Senator Abdulaziz Yari.
The document claimed that the Kaduna State Government had released ₦2.3 trillion to host the presidential campaign rally. Alake described the claim as fabricated and questioned its plausibility, arguing that the amount exceeded the state’s combined budgets for 2024, 2025 and 2026.
The figures cited by the spokesperson were ₦458.271 billion for 2024, ₦790.439 billion for 2025 and ₦985.9 billion for 2026.
The council urged Nigerians to verify political claims and materials circulating online, particularly those relating to the rally. At the time of the statement, no response from Atiku or the ADC to the allegations was included.
Kaduna takes centre stage in APC mobilisation
The choice of Kaduna as the starting point of the APC’s presidential campaign places the state at the centre of the party’s efforts to consolidate support in the North ahead of the 2027 election.
Kaduna is politically significant because of its position in the North-West, a region with a substantial share of Nigeria’s registered voters. The state also remains an important political battleground, having voted for the Labour Party’s Peter Obi in the 2023 presidential election, when Tinubu secured victory nationally.
The rally is therefore expected to provide the APC with an opportunity to demonstrate its organisational strength, rally its supporters and communicate its message ahead of the next general election.
Party officials and support groups have been mobilising for the event, while preparations at the venue have focused on accommodating participants and managing the expected crowd.
The Kaduna State Government and the APC have also had to consider logistics and security arrangements for the gathering, which is expected to attract party faithful from within and outside the state.
Women, support groups mobilise for flag-off
The campaign mobilisation has extended beyond the party’s formal structures, with support groups and women’s organisations participating in activities ahead of the rally.
The First Lady, Oluremi Tinubu, has been associated with efforts to mobilise women in support of the president’s political agenda, while party-linked groups have been working to strengthen grassroots participation.
Ahead of the flag-off, support groups staged solidarity activities in Kaduna, presenting the rally as an opportunity to demonstrate support for the president and the APC’s proposed campaign programme.
The mobilisation reflects the importance political parties attach to grassroots networks, community structures and coordinated outreach in a presidential election involving voters across Nigeria’s 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory.
However, the size of the turnout and the level of support demonstrated at a rally do not, on their own, establish how voters will behave at the ballot box. The APC’s campaign will ultimately be judged against the wider political and economic issues shaping voters’ decisions.
Security and logistics in focus
The rally is taking place amid public attention to security arrangements and the circulation of claims about the use of public resources for political activities.
The APC campaign council’s response to the billboard photograph and the alleged ₦2.3 trillion letter has added another dimension to the political exchanges surrounding the flag-off.
While the ruling party has characterised the materials as part of a disinformation effort, the controversy also underscores the need for political actors and media organisations to establish the authenticity and context of photographs, documents and videos before circulating or publishing them.
For the authorities, the immediate task is to ensure that the rally proceeds peacefully, with appropriate crowd management and security arrangements. For political parties, the event offers an opportunity to present their messages and engage supporters as preparations for the 2027 election gather momentum.
The Kaduna flag-off marks the beginning of a wider campaign season in which the APC is expected to take its message to other parts of the country. The contest will unfold against the backdrop of debates over the economy, security, governance and the performance of the federal and state governments.
As Tinubu and the First Lady arrive in Kaduna for the event, the rally is expected to serve as an early test of the APC’s campaign organisation and its ability to mobilise supporters, while the exchange of allegations with the opposition highlights the increasingly contested information environment surrounding the 2027 presidential race.
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