Claims over one million attended Tinubu’s Kaduna rally, targets two million votes in 2027
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From Noah Ebije, Kaduna
The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Kaduna State has urged former Vice President Atiku Abubakar to withdraw from the 2027 presidential race and join forces with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, insisting that the president enjoys growing support in Northern Nigeria.
The party also claimed that over one million people attended Tinubu’s presidential campaign flag-off rally in Kaduna on Saturday, 24 October 2026, describing the turnout as a demonstration of support for the president ahead of the 2027 general election.
Speaking at a post-rally press conference in Kaduna on Monday, the APC state publicity secretary, Mohammed Sani Haruna, said the turnout had strengthened the party’s confidence that Kaduna State would deliver at least two million votes for Tinubu in the next presidential election.
The APC spokesperson reiterated his call on Atiku to withdraw from the 2027 presidential contest, arguing that the former vice president should reconsider his ambition in view of what he described as growing support for Tinubu in the North.
“I am categorically calling on him to withdraw from the race. Already, the odds are against him,” Haruna said.
He urged Atiku to support Tinubu, citing what he described as a political favour the president had extended to the former vice president in 2011.
“It is on record that President Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu has done a favour to Atiku Abubakar by giving him a platform in 2011 to contest for the presidency of Nigeria. And we know that there’s a saying that one good turn deserves another,” he said.
Haruna also criticised Atiku and other opposition figures over what he described as their failure to adequately address the economic and developmental challenges facing Northern Nigeria.
He alleged that some opposition politicians were relying on religious and ethnic sentiments to attract votes rather than presenting credible alternatives for addressing the region’s challenges.
The state APC spokesperson said the state had fulfilled its promise to mobilise a massive crowd to welcome the president, adding that the rally attracted supporters from different backgrounds and parts of Northern Nigeria.
“We promised Nigerians and people all over the world that Kaduna was going to mobilise hundreds of thousands of people who would come out to welcome Mr President,” he said.
He added, “True to what we said, on Saturday, estimates have shown that over a million people came out to welcome Mr President.”
According to Haruna, the crowd stretched from the airport to the routes taken by the president’s convoy and the venue of the rally.
“We are confident that there won’t be any state that Mr President is going to visit in this campaign season that will be close to what Kaduna produced, let alone match us or defeat us in terms of mobilisation and in terms of the show of love for Mr President,” he said.
The attendance figure, however, was the APC spokesperson’s estimate and was not independently verified during the briefing.
Haruna expressed confidence that Kaduna State would meet or surpass the two-million-vote target announced by Governor Uba Sani for Tinubu in 2027.
“The promise made by our governor, Senator Uba Sani, that Kaduna State was going to produce two million votes for Mr President, the turnout on Saturday has shown that we can even surpass that target,” he said.
The APC spokesman argued that the rally had demonstrated Tinubu’s acceptance in Northern Nigeria, which he described as a significant political development ahead of the next general election.
“The coming of Mr President to Kaduna, and in particular Northern Nigeria, has proven to naysayers that the North has accepted President Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu,” Haruna said.
He commended Governor Uba Sani for providing the leadership and organisational support that brought party members and supporters together for the rally.
“We want to use this opportunity to thank our dear governor, Senator Uba Sani, for the leadership he provided to the party and the people of Kaduna State that brought us all under one umbrella to welcome Mr President,” he said.
The APC spokesperson also dismissed allegations that supporters were paid to attend the rally, insisting that the turnout reflected genuine enthusiasm for Tinubu.
Responding to questions about claims that attendees had received financial inducements, Haruna argued that the hours people reportedly spent waiting for the president showed that their participation could not simply be attributed to payment.
“People were at the stadium from 10 p.m. on Friday night. People slept over. People queued up as early as 4 a.m. to get access into the stadium. You cannot buy that sentiment,” he said.
He added, “People queued up, people waited under the hot sun for hours to welcome Mr President. You can never buy that emotion.”
Haruna maintained that the rally was a genuine demonstration of support for Tinubu, although the briefing did not provide independently verifiable evidence to establish whether attendees were paid.
Haruna also defended Tinubu’s economic reforms, claiming that the policies were beginning to yield positive results, including a gradual reduction in food prices.
“The reforms are yielding positive results. We are seeing a downward review of prices. Now prices of food items are gradually reducing. Insecurity is gradually being eradicated,” he said.
He cited the continuation of railway construction from Kaduna towards Kano as evidence of the federal government’s commitment to improving transportation and economic activities in Northern Nigeria.
The APC spokesman further claimed that federal universities had avoided strikes arising from industrial disputes during Tinubu’s tenure, describing the situation as a significant improvement on previous years.
He argued that the administration deserved another term to consolidate its economic and infrastructural policies, expressing confidence that a second mandate would further improve security and living conditions.
Haruna commended the organisation of the Kaduna rally, saying the event brought together people from different backgrounds and political persuasions without any major incident.
He praised Governor Uba Sani for the arrangements and leadership that made the event possible, describing Kaduna as a pace-setter in political mobilisation in Northern Nigeria.
The APC spokesperson maintained that the turnout had strengthened the party’s determination to mobilise support for Tinubu across Kaduna State and the wider North ahead of the 2027 general election.
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