Kaduna State Governor, Uba Sani, and the Director-General of the All Progressives Congress Presidential Campaign Council, Abdulaziz Yari, have expressed optimism that voters in Northern Nigeria will support President Bola Tinubu in the January 16, 2027 presidential election.
They attributed the anticipated support to the Tinubu administration’s efforts in infrastructure development, security, agriculture and other critical sectors.
Sani made the remarks on Saturday at the official flag-off of the APC’s 2027 presidential campaign in Kaduna, where he highlighted federal government projects and security initiatives across the North, particularly in Kaduna State.
He mentioned the ongoing reconstruction of the Abuja-Kaduna-Kano Expressway, the Kaduna-Birnin Gwari Road project, and the reopening of schools and primary healthcare centres previously shut down because of insecurity.
He said, “In the last three and a half years, Your Excellency, Mr President, and your dear wife, our First Lady, have shown Kaduna and indeed the North genuine love. We are truly proud as a people of Kaduna State and indeed Northern Nigeria.
“Mr President, decisive interventions in transportation, education, healthcare, agriculture, security and human capital development have brought revival and truly renewed the hope of our people.
“Under your Excellency’s Renewed Hope Agenda, massive developmental interventions by the Federal Government have reached completion in Kaduna State and the North. Several others remain under construction or are passing through approval, funding and implementation. Each carries an obligation to deliver lasting public value.
“That is why today we are affirming our resolve as a people to massively come out in January 2027 to vote for continuity. We are voting for a promise keeper to continue with the good work he is already doing in Kaduna State and in general.”
The governor maintained that Tinubu had kept his commitment to reconstruct the 123-kilometre Kaduna-Birnin Gwari Road and address insecurity along the route. He disclosed that N117bn had been released for the project, which had remained abandoned for more than four decades.
Sani also recalled that Tinubu visited Birnin Gwari during his 2022 presidential campaign despite security threats, with 27 armoured vehicles escorting him and other party leaders.
He further announced that construction had started on the Zaria-Soba-Birnin Gwari Road. According to him, $865m had been approved for the Kaduna Metropolitan Red Line project, while the contractor, Mota-Engil, had mobilised $300m.
Sani continued, “Mr President, from the North-West of Nigeria, we want to thank you because most of the students who have benefited from this intervention are children of the poor and underserved. You have given them a future. You have given them life, and we believe education is the greatest leveller you can give anyone to have a future, Mr President.
“Mr President, I also want to thank you. When I visited you recently, two years ago, I drew your attention, Mr President, to the fact that the Kaduna-Abuja-Kano Road was the most important road in Northern Nigeria. And you agreed with me, Mr President, at that time. You also assured us that you were going to pay the N740bn for the reconstruction of the Abuja-Kaduna-Kano Expressway. As we are speaking, Mr President, 95 per cent of the work has been completed.
“We want to thank you, Mr President, because the Abuja-Kaduna Expressway connects 12 states in the North-West, North-Central and North-East, Mr President, as well as connecting Northern Nigeria to the southern part of Nigeria.
“We remain grateful to you because there were two reasons why the previous government abandoned the Abuja-Kaduna Road. The reasons were two: number one, insecurity; number two, funding.”
The governor said enhanced security along the Abuja-Kaduna Road had led to a decline in kidnapping incidents. He added that more than 90 per cent of Kaduna residents who attended the rally had travelled through the road.
He also challenged opposition presidential candidates from Northern Nigeria to showcase their road construction achievements, claiming that more than 1,000 kilometres of roads had been constructed in the region under Tinubu’s administration.
Sani equally commended the President’s support for agricultural development, saying, “Today, I am speaking on behalf of all the governors here, particularly those from Northern Nigeria. No leader in the history of Nigeria has supported agricultural transformation as substantially as you have done, Mr President, and that is a record. We are talking based on statistics and data, Mr President.
“At this juncture, I want to thank you, Mr President, and assure you that the people of Northern Nigeria will repay you with their votes. You have seen, Mr President, the people coming from the airport to the stadium. They will come out on January 16 to vote for you.”
Similarly, Yari said the Tinubu administration had made progress in managing the economy, citing the removal of fuel subsidies, exchange rate reforms and other economic policies.
He stated that the APC would rely on its achievements in infrastructure, healthcare, education and human capital development during its campaign. He added that northern political leaders were engaging traditional rulers and religious leaders to build support for Tinubu’s re-election.
Yari said, “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. By God’s grace, Your Excellency, Mr President, we resolve, by God’s grace, that as far as Northern Nigeria is concerned, Mr President, I need your ears.
“Mr President, I want you to listen to us carefully. Northern Nigeria is 101 per cent for you, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, by God’s grace, Insha Allah. And the promise we have made, you are going to see it on January 16, 2027.”
The rally in Kaduna formally marked the launch of Tinubu’s campaign for re-election in the 2027 presidential election.
