2027: Tinubu kicks off re-election campaign in Kaduna 24 October

President Bola Tinubu will commence his re-election campaign in Kaduna State on 24 October.

The Director-General of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential Campaign Council (PCC), Abdulaziz Yari, disclosed this on Friday after meeting President Tinubu at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, and speaking with State House Correspondents.

He said the president had approved the proposed campaign timetable, adding that the campaign would proceed to Rivers State and Maiduguri, Borno, after the Kaduna rally.

According to him, President Tinubu will formally inaugurate the APC PCC, appointed a few months ago, on 14 October at the Banquet Hall of the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

Mr Yari, a former governor of Zamfara State and the sitting senator for Zamfara Central, said the campaign timetable would be made public after the council’s inauguration.

“I just presented a proposed campaign timetable for state visits to the president, and he has approved it,” he said.

“We agreed on how it is going to be done. The PCC’s inaugural meeting will be held on October 14 at the Banquet Hall of the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

“And, by God’s grace, on 24 October, we are going to have our flag-off in Kaduna State.

“We have the timetable, and we are going to make it available after the inauguration,” Mr Yari said.

On the APC’s chances in the 2027 presidential election, the former governor predicted a landslide victory for President Tinubu, citing the president’s popularity and the number of states controlled by the ruling party.

Mr Yari said the APC controlled more than 10 states in the South and believed it also controlled more than 10 states in the North.

“This is a calculation; it is not rocket science,” he said.

Mr Yari said President Tinubu had changed the situation he inherited since assuming office, adding that the administration’s performance would form part of the party’s campaign message.

“The economy is improving. So, I think we have done enough to tell our opponents what we have achieved.

“We are not promising; we are doing it, and we are going to continue,” he said.

Read the full interview with Senator Yari

You just met with the President and Commander-in-Chief. Can you tell us what the meeting was about?

Thank you very much. The President asked me to brief him on where we are and discuss the timetable for the state visits. By God’s grace, his team, I, and Mr President himself have agreed on how it will be done. We have put forward a proposal.

The inaugural meeting will be held on the 14th of this month. That’s next Wednesday at the State House banquet hall, and by God’s grace, on the 24th of October, we’ll hold our flag-off campaign in Kaduna, inshallah. We’ve outlined our state visits, and the President has approved them. So we’ll hit the ground running by 24 October, inshallah.

What states besides Kaduna?

The next state is going to Port Harcourt. From there, we will be in Maiduguri. We have the timetable, and we’ll make it available after the inauguration. But Mr President’s team and I have understood and approved this.

Your comments to Peter Obi and Atiku

We are talking about the president of the country, and this president, by God’s grace, Almighty God used him to support Atiku some time back, and at the same time to support Peter Obi.

So, if Allah uses me to support you, there is no way Allah will use you to bring me down. I mean, they cannot bring him down. Let me give you one scenario. If you don’t know, can you say the ADC candidate today in the southern part of the country can beat his chest and say he controls one state in the south? And I don’t think Peter Obi, who used to be my colleague, can beat his chest. Can he say he controls one state in northern Nigeria? So this calculation shows that even if you control 80 per cent of the South, if you have nothing in the North, you cannot make it. If you have 80 per cent control of the North, if you don’t have any state in the South, you make it, and that’s what it is.

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Look at Buhari of blessed memory. He controlled over 70 per cent at that time, over 11 states in the North,h and had no control of one in the South. He couldn’t make it all the way. And today, I’m sure Asiwaju controls more than 10 states in the South; conservatively, more than 10 states in the South, and I believe he controls more than 10 states in the North. This is a calculation; it is not rocket science. President Bola Tinubu, since the time he assumed office, has turned around the situation that he met on the ground; still,l the economy is moving. So, I think we have done enough that we can tell our opponents about what we did. We are not promising. We are doing it, and we will continue.