Sowore says APC bused in crowd for Tinubu's Kaduna rally
- Omoyele Sowore claims the APC brought supporters from across Nigeria to fill Ranchers Bees Stadium in Kaduna.
- He says the stadium holds only 5,000 and the crowd does not prove nationwide backing for Tinubu.
- President Tinubu used the rally to ask Nigerians for a second term and defended his economic record.
Omoyele Sowore, the African Action Congress (AAC) presidential candidate, has said the crowd at President Bola Tinubu's campaign rally in Kaduna should not be taken as proof that the ruling party enjoys support across the country.
In a post on his verified Facebook account, Sowore alleged that the All Progressives Congress (APC) brought people in from different parts of Nigeria to fill Ranchers Bees Stadium, also called Kaduna Township Stadium. He put the venue's capacity at about 5,000.
He argued that a full stadium does not amount to nationwide backing for Tinubu, and said the President would lose the 2027 election.
The APC has not responded to the allegation in the reports reviewed. The claim is Sowore's, not a finding by any court or electoral body.
What Tinubu told the crowd
The Kaduna event marked the formal start of the APC's campaign for the 2027 presidential election. Tinubu was there with Vice-President Kashim Shettima, Kaduna State Governor Uba Sani, APC governors, ministers and lawmakers.
According to Reuters, the President thanked those who came and asked them to vote for him again. "Come 2027, January 16, you must go out massively and elect me again," he said.
Tinubu also defended his economic policies, which have drawn steady criticism as food prices, transport costs and inflation squeeze household budgets. He blamed his opponents for the hardship. "They created the hunger. They created the poverty. We are trying to eradicate it," he said.
For ordinary Nigerians, the exchange matters less as a crowd-counting argument and more as a sign of the campaign to come: the ruling party will point to its record and ask for more time, while opposition figures will keep pressing on the cost of living.
What happens next
The 2027 general election is still more than a year away, and campaigns are already heating up, with parties testing crowds and messages across the states.
Expect more rallies, more claims about attendance, and more argument over whether the economy is improving. Voters will have the final say at the ballot.
