APC opens 2027 campaign in Kaduna as northern support for Tinubu is debated

The All Progressives Congress (APC) has kicked off its campaign for President Bola Tinubu's re-election in 2027 with a rally in Kaduna, drawing governors, ministers, senators and party leaders from across the country. The event held on Saturday under heavy security, according to Daily Post.

The turnout was heavy enough that hotels in the city were said to be full, with some supporters reportedly sleeping in vehicles or on the streets. Speakers urged the North to close ranks behind the president, pointing to projects and appointments they said had favoured the region.

But the crowd has not ended the argument over how much support Tinubu really has in the North, where many residents say cost-of-living pressures and insecurity have made life harder.

What the rally does and does not show

Professor Kamilu Sani Fagge, a political scientist at Bayero University, Kano, told Daily Post that a big crowd is not the same as votes. He said people attend rallies for many reasons, including curiosity, and the same faces can show up at a rival's event.

"This rally does not show love for the president," Fagge said.

He also suggested the choice of Ranchers Bees Stadium, rather than the bigger Ahmadu Bello Stadium, could make the gathering look larger than it was.

Daily Post spoke to residents with opposing views. Alhaji Nasir Tukur, an Abuja businessman, said the cost of moving goods and buying stock has crushed many businesses. He said flour products that sold for between ₦5,000 and ₦7,000 when he started distribution in 2016 now go for ₦50,000 to ₦55,000, and that tax and revenue changes have added to the burden. He asked why anyone facing such conditions would back the incumbent.

Dr Faruk Sadi, a Kano lecturer, took the other side. He argued that the administration should be judged on what it has started and delivered, citing the unified foreign exchange market, the higher minimum wage, the student loan scheme, compressed natural gas transport and rail and road projects. He accepted that many homes still feel high prices, but said results, not promises, should decide the argument.

Bafarawa sets his price: peace

Former Sokoto State Governor Attahiru Bafarawa said his vote in 2027 depends on one thing: whether Tinubu restores peace to Sokoto and the rest of the North. He spoke to FRI, a Hausa online platform.

"I don't want anything in the name of campaign money," Bafarawa said.

He said markets, schools and farms must reopen for communities to live normally again, and argued that a president with power, money and the security agencies could change the situation within a month or three. He said he is not an APC member and would support anyone who restores peace.

Bafarawa also backed the appointment of former Zamfara governor Abdulaziz Yari as director-general of the Tinubu campaign, saying a party man should respect the party's and the president's decision. He said Yari sought advice before and after taking the job.

He also claimed he has met Tinubu only once since 2023, at a mosque, and that someone the president asked to bring him to the Villa later blocked his phone lines.

What happens next

Attention now shifts to the opposition, including the African Democratic Congress (ADC) and the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), as they prepare their own campaigns. For ordinary voters in the North, the issues in play are plain: prices in the market, safety on the road and on farms, and whether children can sit in classrooms. The ballot, not the rally ground, will settle the question.