Tinubu opens 2027 campaign in Kaduna, defends economy and security record

President Bola Tinubu flagged off his 2027 re-election campaign in Kaduna on Saturday, October 24, telling a packed Ranchers Bees Stadium that he had come back to ask for a second term.

Supporters started arriving as early as 7am, and some reportedly slept at the stadium overnight, according to accounts of the rally carried by The Nation and ThisDay.

Tinubu thanked Kaduna residents for their support in 2023 and said he was seeking their backing again to continue what he called his promise of prosperity, continuity, progress and development.

"My good people of Kaduna, it's good to be back here again," he told the crowd, adding that he would not bore them with a long speech.

Hunger, salaries and the economy

The economy has been the President's toughest ground since he took office, and he addressed it directly.

"I hear my opponents talking about hunger and poverty. Who created it? They did. They created the hunger. We are trying to eradicate it," he said.

He listed what he described as his administration's achievements, including economic reforms, regular payment of salaries and projects by governors elected on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

According to the reports, he also cited falling inflation, a steadier naira, increased monthly federal allocations to states, and a student loan scheme under NELFUND, the Nigerian Education Loan Fund.

"We pay salaries regularly. Our governors are working. I'm proud of them," Tinubu said, praising the states for their development projects.

On security, he said the Kaduna-Abuja road is now safer and that farming is returning to Giwa and Soba, crediting military operations and Governor Uba Sani's non-kinetic approach.

Governor Sani, for his part, highlighted gains in security and infrastructure and thanked the President for federal support to Kaduna.

Why Kaduna, and what comes next

Kaduna was the headquarters of the old Northern Region, and the choice of venue was widely read as a message to the North, where Tinubu drew about 62 per cent of his votes in 2023.

Vice President Kashim Shettima and Senator Abdulaziz Yari, the campaign director-general, argued that northerners owe the President support, pointing to his backing for northern candidates in past elections.

The campaign council now includes figures who once opposed him, among them FCT Minister Nyesom Wike and Governors Chukwuma Soludo of Anambra and Ademola Adeleke of Osun.

The APC says it is targeting two million votes in Kaduna. Rallies are planned for Sokoto on December 5 and Kano on December 17.

For ordinary Nigerians, the campaign will be judged less on crowd size than on what happens to food prices, fuel costs, jobs and safety in the coming months.