Tinubu opens 2027 campaign in Kaduna with rally and highway launch
- President Tinubu leads APC leaders to Kaduna today for the party's first presidential rally of the 2027 race.
- He is also expected to commission an 81km stretch of the Abuja-Kaduna highway on the sidelines.
- Kaduna is a battleground state that Atiku Abubakar, now of the ADC, won in 2023.
President Bola Tinubu takes his re-election bid to Kaduna today, where the All Progressives Congress (APC) holds its first presidential campaign rally ahead of the January 16, 2027 election.
He is travelling with Vice-President Kashim Shettima, APC National Chairman Nentawe Yilwatda and Abdul'aziz Yari, who heads the party's Presidential Campaign Council. Governors elected on the party's platform, National Assembly leaders, former governors and state party chairmen are also expected.
The event at Ranchers Bees Stadium is the ruling party's first big presidential outing since campaigns officially opened on August 19. It also marks the start of a tour the party plans to take through all 36 states, closing with a rally in Lagos on January 9, 2027, a week before voters go to the polls.
According to the proposed schedule, the President will attend rallies in person in 12 states: Kaduna, Rivers, Plateau, Oyo, Borno, Enugu, Bauchi, Sokoto, Delta, Kano, Adamawa and Lagos.
Why Kaduna matters
Kaduna is not a random starting point. In 2023 the state went to Atiku Abubakar, then the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, rather than to Tinubu. Atiku is now the presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), and the state's former governor, Nasir El-Rufai, is deputy chairman of the ADC campaign council.
Opening in Kaduna gives the President a chance to test his support in the North-West and push back against the opposition in a state that helped decide the last election.
The city has been filling up in the days before the rally. The Nation reported that hotels around Kaduna were fully booked, the stadium was decorated with party flags and banners, and security was increased on roads leading to the venue.
Support groups held a road march on Friday to welcome the President. Silas Ali Agara, who directs the campaign's support groups mobilisation, said about 10,000 groups had been organised nationwide. "We want to show Mr President that Nigerians love him," he said.
North West APC publicity secretary Mailafiya Mada said a huge crowd is expected. He acknowledged that Ranchers Bees Stadium may not hold everyone, noting that the alternative, Ahmadu Bello Stadium, is being renovated. Those who cannot get inside will be managed around the venue, he said.
Road commissioning
On the sidelines of the rally, the President is expected to inaugurate an 81-kilometre section of the Abuja-Kaduna highway. The road is built with reinforced concrete and fitted with streetlights.
Bayo Onanuga, the President's adviser on information and strategy, said on X that the road would make travelling at night along the corridor easier. He said the administration has completed 348 kilometres of roads in the North-West, part of a target of 4,084 kilometres in the zone.
What happens next
The APC campaign moves on to the other states on its timetable, with the President personally attending 12 rallies. The opposition ADC, led by Atiku with El-Rufai in its campaign leadership, is expected to contest the North-West strongly. For ordinary Nigerians, the campaign will be judged on cost of living, fuel prices, security and jobs as much as on new roads.
