Tinubu Flags Off 2027 Campaign, Backs APC Governors Against Rainbow Coalition

President Bola Tinubu has formally launched the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential campaign in Kaduna State, attacking opposition parties over the country’s economic challenges and urging Nigerians to re-elect him in the January 16, 2027, presidential election.

Tinubu, who spoke at the campaign flag-off on Saturday, accused his political opponents of being responsible for the hunger and poverty confronting Nigerians, insisting that his administration was working to address the challenges.

“I hear my opponents talking about hunger and poverty. Who created it? They did. They created the hunger. They created the poverty we are trying to eradicate,” the President said.

He dismissed opposition criticism as unconstructive, describing his political rivals as failures who had nothing to offer the country beyond criticism.

“This is not a matter of hunger; this is not a matter of anger either. Our opponents are angry because they are failures. They have nothing to offer you but heckling,” Tinubu said.

Defending his administration’s record, the President said salaries were being paid regularly and commended APC governors for their performance in their respective states.

“We pay salaries regularly. Our governors are working. I am proud of them. They are developing,” he said.

Tinubu urged Nigerians to vote massively for him and other APC candidates in the 2027 elections, in an apparent show of support for the position of APC governors against the proposed Rainbow Coalition advocated by the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike.

“Come January 2027, January 16, you must go out massively to elect me again. APC all the way. APC for our governors. APC for our senators. APC for our honourable members of the House of Representatives and all houses of assembly,” he told supporters.

The President also urged voters to ensure they possessed their Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs), repeatedly asking the crowd to indicate whether they had their cards.

He promised that a second term would bring prosperity, continuity, progress and development, adding that the country’s future depended on the choices Nigerians made at the ballot box.

“Your prosperity is here. Your future is in your hands; the fingerprint will reflect it,” he said.

Tinubu also criticised a pledge by former Vice President and African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, to restore fuel subsidy if elected, declaring that fuel subsidy belonged to the past.

“Fuel subsidy is in our past. No more corruption. No more falsification of invoices. No more lies. No more smuggling of wealth,” the President said.

He praised APC governors across the country, saying he had witnessed development efforts in their respective states, and reiterated his promise of a better future for Nigerians.

Earlier, Vice President Kashim Shettima called for renewed support for Tinubu, arguing that the administration had worked to keep the country united and counter predictions of economic failure.

Shettima said the APC’s electoral victory in 2023 was not based on wealth, education or superior speaking skills, but on voters’ assessment of the available political choices.

“We won because you saw the options before you and knew, without a doubt, that the alternative was a calamity,” he said.

The Vice President also urged the people of Kaduna State to renew the mandate of Governor Uba Sani, crediting his leadership with promoting unity across the state and extending the benefits of democracy to different communities.

He cited the establishment of the Federal University of Applied Sciences in Kachia, the transition to the Federal University of Education in Zaria, and the creation of state vocational institutes in Rigachikun, Soba and Samaru Kataf, which he said had produced more than 4,000 graduates.

Shettima also highlighted the Federal Government’s education funding through the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND), saying the initiative had supported hundreds of thousands of university students.

He said Tinubu had previously supported the late President Muhammadu Buhari’s presidential campaigns in 2015 and 2019, adding that the APC leadership was united behind Tinubu’s re-election bid.

The Kaduna rally marked the formal commencement of the APC’s campaign for Tinubu’s second term ahead of the January 16, 2027, presidential election.