KADUNA, Nigeria — President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Saturday officially flagged off his 2027 presidential campaign in Kaduna State, taking a direct swipe at opposition leaders over the country’s economic challenges.
Speaking before a massive crowd of supporters at the Ranchers Bees Stadium, President Tinubu accused previous administrations of laying the foundation for the poverty and hunger they now use to criticize his government.
”I hear my opponents talking about hunger and poverty. Who created it? They did. They created the hunger; they created the poverty. We are trying to eradicate it,” Tinubu declared.
The President’s remarks were a thinly veiled jab at former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, the presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), whose 1999–2007 tenure overseen by the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) saw the privatization of several state-owned enterprises without the payment of severance packages or pensions to thousands of retrenched workers—dues the current administration has been settling.
Commissioning the completed 81-kilometre section (Lot 1) of the Abuja-Kaduna-Zaria-Kano Dual Carriageway, Tinubu highlighted his administration’s focus on infrastructure.
Speaking via virtual commissioning at the venue, the Minister of Works, Engr. Dave Umahi, noted that the road project forms part of broader federal infrastructure investments targeted at improving connectivity across the North-West zone and the entire nation.
Reiterating Kaduna’s historical status as the political nerve center of Northern Nigeria, Tinubu thanked residents for their support during the 2023 elections and appealed for continuity in 2027 to consolidate his administration’s economic reforms.
Solidarity from APC Hierarchy
In his address, Vice President Kashim Shettima highlighted President Tinubu’s long-standing political alliances with Northern leaders, recalling his pivotal role in supporting former President Muhammadu Buhari, Atiku Abubakar, and Mallam Nuhu Ribadu in previous election cycles.
”We won the last election because you saw the best option before you,” Shettima said, praising Kaduna voters for standing with the ruling party. “This wisdom has made Kaduna State a unified place.”
Host Governor Senator Uba Sani commended the Federal Government’s partnership with states on agriculture, infrastructure, and social welfare, while warning party loyalists to stay vigilant against social media misinformation and AI-generated fake news during the campaign season.
Director-General of the APC Presidential Campaign Council, Abdulaziz Yari, expressed confidence in the party’s mobilization machinery, urging Nigerians to judge the administration by the long-term benefits of its economic and foreign exchange reforms.
The campaign flag-off was attended by key political figures, including First Lady Senator Oluremi Tinubu, APC National Chairman Prof. Nentawe Yilwatda, 32 APC State Governors, and former party chairmen Senator Abdullahi Adamu and Dr. Abdullahi Ganduje.