THE All Progressives Congress (APC) North West Zone emerged from its stakeholders’ meeting in Kaduna on Saturday, endorsing President Bola Ahmed Tinubu as its Presidential Candidate for the 2027 general elections.
The meeting included the National Chairman of the Party, Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, APC Governors from the zone, including Uba Sani of Kaduna, Nasir Idris of Kebbi, and Umar Namadi of Jigawa, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Dr Tajudeen Abbas, Deputy President of the Senate, Barau I Jibrin, Ministers from the Zone, and other stakeholders.
Others in attendance were chairmen of State Chapters of APC, state and federal legislators, heads of Federal Agencies, and senior political appointees.
The foundation for the president’s endorsement was laid when the Deputy President of the Senate, asked, ” Aso Rock?” and the crowd responded,” No vacancy.”
Barau further said, “So it is clear in 2027, we will have a landslide victory, inshallah. So, let us continue on the way we are going. Let us cooperate with one another, work with the president, work with everybody, cooperate amongst ourselves to have the desired victory.”
He said the defection of stalwarts of the opposition political parties to the APC was a result of President Tinubu’s performance in addressing the challenges bedevilling the country.
“This is not happening for nothing. There are reasons for this. What are the reasons? Number one is the performance of our dear president. The president, of course, inherited a lot of challenges, bedevilling our country. But he has come up with programs and policies to surmount these challenges.
“Security challenges, economic challenges, name them. We’ve seen how he has dealt with our problem, our security problem—the security we’ve been facing in the North West. Several areas were not accessible before now.
You could not go to some areas before now. But now you can go to some places, you can travel from Abuja to Kaduna. This was quite impossible before he came to power.
“Similarly, before this administration, you could not go to Birnin Gwari, but life has returned to the area. The people have returned to their farmlands. Several areas that were not accessible are now accessible.
“We know we are not where we want to be. We are not there yet. We are not finally there yet. But it’s a work in progress. Mr President is working hard, day in and day out, to surmount this country’s insecurity problem, particularly in the North West. It is a work in progress. It is easy to have problems, but not easy to solve them.
“And of course, that is not alone. That is not the only reason we have these influxes to our party—the performance of our governors. Our governors are doing well, working day in, day out,” he said.
On his path, Ganduje, emphasised that President Tinubu is committed to developing the North West, the entire northern region and Nigeria by extension.
He said the commitment has been demonstrated through his several intervention projects, ranging from infrastructure to agriculture to social development across the northern region.
He emphasised that the establishment of the North West Development Commission was a clear indication that the President loves the North West region.