President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Saturday flagged off his presidential campaign for the 2027 general elections in Kaduna, taking a swipe at opposition leaders for the poverty and hunger in the country.
Speaking at a well-attended rally at the Ranchers Bees Stadium, the President accused his opponents of creating the challenges they now use to campaign against his administration.
“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 said.
According to a statement by the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, the jibe was directed at the ADC presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, who served as Vice President between 1999 and 2007, during which many state-run businesses were privatised without paying gratuities and pensions of thousands of laid-off workers. The statement noted that the Tinubu administration has been paying those workers.
At the rally, President Tinubu also inaugurated the 81-kilometre section of the Kaduna-Abuja highway with a symbolic ribbon-cutting, and virtually commissioned Lot 1 (81 km) of the Abuja-Kaduna-Zaria-Kano Dual Carriageway.
He recalled Kaduna’s historical significance as the city of leaders and political headquarters of the northern region, thanked the people of the state for trusting him with their mandate in the 2023 elections, and urged them to vote for him again, citing his record of achievements and investments in critical infrastructure in Kaduna and the entire North.
The rally was attended by APC National Chairman, Prof. Nentawe Yilwatda, Vice President Kashim Shettima, the First Lady, wife of the Vice President, 32 APC governors, former APC National Chairman Senator Abdullahi Adamu and former governor Abdullahi Ganduje, among other party leaders.
In his remarks, Vice President Kashim Shettima reaffirmed President Tinubu’s commitment to national unity, democratic stability and economic development, urging Nigerians to support the administration for continuity.
Shettima recalled Tinubu’s support for northern presidential candidates in previous elections, including former President Muhammadu Buhari who won in 2015 and 2019, as well as former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, describing it as a demonstration of political loyalty and commitment to national unity.
“We won the last election because you saw the best option before you. For the good people of Kaduna State, we have seen why you stood with us within the mandate of the APC, a mandate to redeem the fortune of this great state. This wisdom has made Kaduna State a unified place,” Shettima said.
In his welcome address, Kaduna State Governor, Senator Uba Sani, commended President Tinubu for supporting state governments in implementing development programmes, saying collaboration between federal and state governments was essential for sustainable development.
He also acknowledged the contributions of First Lady Senator Oluremi Tinubu to the welfare of women, children and families, and urged APC supporters to remain vigilant against misinformation, particularly materials circulated on social media and content allegedly generated using artificial intelligence.
Similarly, the Director-General of the APC Presidential Campaign Council, Abdulaziz Yari, expressed confidence in the party’s ability to mobilise support for President Tinubu, defended the administration’s economic reforms citing developments in the foreign exchange market, and urged supporters to guard against misinformation.
Also speaking at the event, the Minister of Works, Engr. Dave Umahi highlighted infrastructure projects the Tinubu administration is undertaking in the North-West and across the country.
