The race for the 2027 presidential election has begun and President Tinubu is not taking anything to chance. He has been working round to the clock to ensure he records resounding victory at the polls. While the opposition is still divided amongst themselves, and bickering over issues that should’ve been ironed out long ago, Tinubu has already made tremendous progress, engaging in subtle campaigns and covering several political grounds well head of his strongest contenders who have not even started work ahead of the elections yet. And the north is one of those grounds the President is covering and very fast too.
The north is extremely pivotal to President Tinubu Tinubu’s re-election bid and he knows it. He knows he needs to do everything possible to attract more than enough votes from the northern region to secure his 2027 victory. He performed quite well during the last 2023 presidential election, amassing significant northern votes that helped him win the election. But he wants to do even better in the north this time around. And from the volume of support the President has been enjoying from many of the northern governors, it is looking almost certain that he will get more than sufficient votes from the northern region when the 2027 presidential election holds next year.
The latest northern governor to declare his intention to support President Tinubu and the ruling party is Governor Abba Yusuf of Kano state. Surprisingly, this move shocked many owing to the fact that Governor Yusuf belongs to the NNPP and his political god father is Senator Rabiu Kwankwaso, at this moment, is yet to align with President Tinubu despite many overtures.
According to the governor, one of the reasons he is aligning with the APC and supporting President Tinubu’s renewed hope agenda is largely because of the monumental strides he, the governor, has been able to make in Kano State, owing to the support of the federal government. Reiterating same thing many other governors have repeatedly said, the President, using judiciously monies saved from the removal of fuel subsidy, has enabled them achieve things tht would ordinarily have taken them longer time to achieve. Many significant projects that have been beneficial to the people have been executed in less than four years.
Another northern governor who recently sang the praises of President Tinubu is the governor of Kaduna state, Governor Uba Sani. The governor has pledged that Kaduna State will support President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s re-election because of the dividends of democracy that he has brought to the state and country at large.
The Governor, who listed projects that were executed by Federal Government and those that it has attracted in Kaduna State, spoke on Sunday during a stakeholders’ engagement on the ongoing e-registration of APC members across the country.
Addressing Zone 2 stakeholders, Governor Uba Sani said that Kaduna State is targeting 2.5 million members in the ongoing exercise because APC is now the dominant party in the State.
The Governor argued that his inclusive development model, where projects are spread across the state and President Tinubu’s projects in Kaduna State, have made members of the opposition to defect to the APC in large numbers.
According to Governor Uba Sani, the President has supported the Kaduna State Light Rail project to the tune of N1 billion, which he described as unprecedented in the whole of northern Nigeria.
He maintained that no other subnational has enjoyed this kind of support, apart from Lagos State, for the execution of the Light Rail Project in the whole of Nigeria.
‘’Only three weeks ago, I was in China, in the company of the Director General of Nigeria-China Strategic Partnership, at the instance of President Bola Tinubu, who has also decided that Kaduna State would be the pilot state to embark on a major poultry project.
‘’The project will generate at least 350,000 jobs. Already, the federal government has approved $200 million for it and Kaduna State will have the biggest poultry project in South-Saharan Africa and the ground breaking will be done in the next three weeks,’’ he added.
The Governor added that the project will also support 10,000 direct and indirect small businesses, particularly SMEs, those that are allied to poultry farming.
‘’Again, we must thank our leader, President Bola Tinubu, for approving the construction of Mando to Birnin Gwari road, which is very critical, as well as re-construction of Kwoi to Jama’a road,’’ he added.
Governor Uba Sani also said that a lot of projects have also been approved in partnership between Kaduna State Government and the office of the Right Honourable Speaker, Tajuddeen Abbas, in the current budget, for Zone 1.
He pointed out that Zone 1, or northern senatorial district, has benefited more than any zone in Kaduna State, adding that having House Speaker Abbas has been a blessing.
The Governor added that Zone 1 is also lucky to have the Minister of Environment, Malam Balarabe Abbas Lawal, who has done very well in supporting Kaduna State generally.
‘’When you look at some of the major projects that we are embarking on, under ACRESal, addressing erosion and other climate issues, he has played a pivotal role in that regard.
‘’In the next one or two months, we will be doing ground breaking for one of the major projects in Zaria and Rigasa, totaling about N53 billion, courtesy of the support and effort of the Minister of Environment, Mallam Balarabe Abbas.
‘’So I can say that we are very lucky, we have people that are working for the Federal Government from our State that have been able to attract very important projects to our state,’’ he added.
Governor Uba Sani further said that with all that the State Government has done for the people of Kaduna State and the projects that President Tinubu has attracted to the subnational, it will be one of the leading states in the e-registration exercise.
Earlier, the Governor had held similar engagements with stakeholders from Zone 2 on Saturday, comprising APC members from Kaduna North and Kaduna South, Chikun, Kajuru, Igabi, Birnin Gwari and Giwa local government areas.
On Sunday, the Governor and senior government officials also met with stakeholders from Zone 1, which is made up of Zaria, Sabon Gari, Soba, Makarfi, Kubau, Kudan, Ikara and Lere local governments.
Likewise, he interacted with stakeholders from Zangon Kataf, Kachai, Jaba, Jemaá, Kaura, Kaura, Kagarko and Sanga local governments of zone 3, or southern Kaduna senatorial district on Sunday.
It is on account of President Tinubu’s impressive impact in the northern region that many prominent personalities, including northern governors and lawmakers, made their positions known when allegations that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has neglected the north in terms of infrastructure began making the rounds. One of the top northern politicians who led this campaign against the Tinubu administration was former Kano state governor, Senator Rabiu Kwankwaso. Among those who ountered this allegation was the Public Enlightenment Movement (PEM). The group insists a lot has been achieved by the president in northern Nigeria.
The coordinator of the group, Nuhu Abdullahi, a popular film actor from Kano, highlighted several infrastructural projects executed under the Tinubu administration.
Delivering a speech at a special gathering on Sunday in Kano, he stated that the movement is already on the third phase of enlightening the public on the activities of President Tinubu in northern Nigeria.
“We are here to present clear information on the development efforts unfolding across Northern Nigeria under the leadership of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
“After the successful execution of the first and second phases of this initiative, which laid the groundwork for wider national progress under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, we gathered here the third phase, which focuses directly on addressing the immediate needs of communities across the North,” he stated.
Highlighting some of the achievements of the third phase, the Coordinator of the Movement highlighted some of the important infrastructure projects of president Tinubu in the north.
“This phase features the upgrade of the Federal Medical Centre in Kumo, Gombe state a project supported by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to bring quality healthcare closer to families in the North-East and reduce the burden of long-distance medical travel.
“Key roads across the North are also receiving focused attention from the President, including the Bauchi to Gombe corridor, the Nasarawa to Abuja route, the Gashua to Potiskum road and the Gembu link toward the Cameroon border.
“These roads are being improved to ease travel, strengthen trade and reconnect communities affected by insecurity.
“Water access is another priority under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, with the Dutse water project in Jigawa State, improving public health and reducing daily household hardship,” he added.
Abdullahi also mentioned the achievement of some security reforms under the Tinubu administration.
“Security reforms in this phase also include the introduction of forest guards, an initiative approved by the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to protect vulnerable communities, support security agencies and curb illegal activities in forest areas.
“As we consider these developments, it is clear that despite national challenges, steady and meaningful progress is unfolding under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. What we need now is unity, responsible engagement and collective support for these efforts, so that Northern Nigeria continues on the path of stability and growth,” he declared.
Meanwhile, Special adviser to the president on media and public communications, Sunday Dare, on his X handle, has revealed that more than 40 major infrastructure and development projects were currently underway across the North, cutting across transport, agriculture, health and energy sectors.
He was refuting allegations by the 2023 presidential candidate of the New Nigeria Peoples Party, Senator Rabiu Kwankwaso, that the North had been neglected under Tinubu’s administration.
Among the highlighted projects are key highways such as the Abuja–Kaduna–Kano Expressway, Sokoto–Badagry Super Highway, Kano–Maiduguri Dual Carriageway, and the reconstruction of the Dikwa–Gamboru–Ngala Road in Borno State.
In the rail sector, the Presidency cited ongoing work on the Kaduna–Kano Rail Line, the Kano–Maradi Rail Line linking Niger Republic, and the N100 billion allocation for the Kaduna Light Rail System.
The agriculture sector has also seen heavy federal investment, with programmes like the $158.15 million Agriculture Value Chain initiative for nine Northern states, the Kolmani Integrated Development Project in Bauchi and Gombe, and the World Bank–funded ACReSAL programme targeting one million hectares of degraded land for restoration.
On healthcare, Dare listed expansions and upgrades at major facilities, including Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital, Zaria, Federal Medical Centre, Nguru, and over 1,000 Primary Health Centres across the North.
Energy projects are equally on the radar, including the Ajaokuta–Kaduna–Kano (AKK) Gas Pipeline, the Gwagwalada Power Plant, and the proposed ABIBA Solar Power Station in Kaduna.
Despite all of the unprec3edented achievements, the President is not resting yet on his oars. He wants to cover more grounds. He wants to win more support and secure more northern votes come 2027. Other governors like Governors Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq (Kwara), Abdullahi Sule (Nasarawa), Hyacinth Alia (Benue), Mohammed Umar Bago (Niger), and Ahmed Usman Ododo (Kogi), have all thrown their weight behind the President.
–WALE LAWAL (08037209290)
