Uba Sani: APC has failed if opposition gets 25% of Kaduna votes in 2027

Kaduna State Governor Uba Sani has set a high bar for the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the 2027 presidential election, saying the party would have failed if any opposition candidate secures up to 25 per cent of the votes in the state.

Sani spoke in an interview with TVC on Sunday, a day after the APC formally launched President Bola Tinubu's re-election campaign at Ranchers Bees Stadium in Kaduna.

He said the party was aiming far beyond 70 per cent in the state, and that letting a rival take even a quarter of the votes would count against the APC because of what he described as federal projects Kaduna had never expected to get.

The governor said northern voters should back Tinubu on his record rather than on ethnic or regional loyalty, arguing that federal projects in Kaduna show the president's commitment to the region.

Projects cited as reasons for support

Sani listed several federal interventions he said should earn Tinubu votes in 2027. They include the handover of Ahmadu Bello Stadium to the Kaduna State Government, which he said would be rebuilt to FIFA standards with 33,000 seats.

He also cited the reconstruction of the 123-kilometre Kaduna–Birnin Gwari Road, which he said had been abandoned for over 40 years, with ₦178 billion released for the work.

On rail, the governor said the federal government approved $865 million for a proposed Kaduna metropolitan light rail, with $300 million already paid to the contractor, China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation, as mobilisation funds.

He mentioned the Zaria–Soba–Kambuwa Road and the expansion of federal tertiary institutions in the state, including four federal universities and a proposed petroleum studies university in Kaduna.

Sani also urged opposition parties to take their campaigns to the people instead of concentrating on social media criticism. He said he had seen the Allied Peoples Movement (APM) holding town hall meetings, but not the African Democratic Congress (ADC) or the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC).

He said any party hoping to win must go out and meet voters, and accused opposition politicians of using artificial intelligence and manipulated images to attack the APC.

ADC rejects rally as evidence of support

The ADC, whose presidential candidate is former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar, dismissed Saturday's rally as disappointing. In a statement, Kola Ologbondiyan, director of media and publicity for the ADC Presidential Campaign Council, alleged that the APC bused supporters from across the North-west and beyond, paying them between ₦50,000 and ₦100,000 each. He also claimed the stadium was sparsely filled.

The governor's prediction contrasts with the 2023 presidential results in Kaduna. Tinubu finished second with about 29 per cent of valid votes, while Atiku won the state with about 41 per cent. Peter Obi of the Labour Party came third with about 22 per cent.

With the 2027 election still more than a year away, the debate shows how both sides are already framing the contest. For ordinary Kaduna residents, the arguments centre on what federal projects have delivered and whether they will translate into votes.