Kaduna Was Not a Rally: It Was a Festival of Endorsement – By Abimbola Tooki

By Abimbola Tooki

Kaduna did not merely host the inaugural presidential campaign rally of the All Progressives Congress (APC) on Saturday, October 24, 2026. It became a vast theatre of political enthusiasm, a colourful celebration of party loyalty and a powerful demonstration of the ruling party’s determination to retain the presidency in 2027. What unfolded in the historic northern city was far more than the routine commencement of a campaign. It was, in the words of former Delta state deputy governor, Comrade Philip Shaibu, a festival. And what a festival it was!
If the energy that swept through Kaduna is any indication of the political mood in the north, the south may have to intensify its mobilisation for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu if it hopes to match the level of votes in the general election and enthusiasm witnessed at the campaign’s opening ceremony. The suggestion that the north could deliver a formidable bloc of votes for the president is no longer an argument to be dismissed casually. Kaduna offered a striking picture of the organisational reach, grassroots presence and political machinery the APC intends to deploy in the coming election.

Of course, a mammoth crowd is not a ballot count, and no responsible political assessment should mistake a successful rally for a guaranteed electoral victory. Yet the Kaduna spectacle supplied the ruling party with something valuable at the beginning of its campaign: momentum, confidence and a compelling visual statement of its capacity to mobilise.
The message was unmistakable. The APC has entered the 2027 contest with its political machinery in motion.

A city transformed by the politics of the moment

The journey to Ranchers Bees Stadium, the venue of the rally, provided perhaps the most memorable illustration of the day’s extraordinary atmosphere.
I travelled to the venue in the same vehicle with Comrade Philip Shaibu and the National Secretary of the APC, Senator Ajibola Basiru. A journey that would ordinarily have taken approximately ten minutes stretched beyond two hours as we navigated a city overwhelmed by the sheer volume of people making their way towards the rally ground.
Everywhere, the streets were alive with movement, excitement and the unmistakable colours of the APC. Supporters poured out of adjoining roads, singing, dancing and chanting songs of victory. Residents lined the streets, while groups of enthusiastic young people and women added their voices to the chorus of political solidarity.
The movement of traffic slowed to a crawl. Commercial activities and ordinary urban routines appeared to yield to the extraordinary gathering. Bicycles and tricycles moved towards the venue, while pedestrians trekked considerable distances in their determination to be part of the historic occasion.
Some supporters had walked close to three kilometres, according to observations along the route. Around the stadium, the enthusiasm spilled beyond the confines of the arena. Trees and vantage points became informal viewing stands, while balconies overlooking the surrounding streets offered residents an opportunity to catch a glimpse of the President and the political leaders who had converged on Kaduna.
The stadium itself was bursting with people, with supporters extending into adjoining roads and open spaces. The atmosphere was charged with anticipation, punctuated by music, campaign chants and waves of applause. It was difficult not to be struck by the scale of the spectacle.
For those of us who have covered political gatherings over several decades, Kaduna offered a reminder that politics, at its most compelling, is not always experienced through speeches, press statements or television interviews. Sometimes, its meaning is conveyed by the movement of people, the emotions written on their faces and the determination with which they gather to identify with a political cause. That was the Kaduna experience.
As we made our slow journey to the venue, I turned to Shaibu and Senator Basiru and remarked on the extraordinary nature of what we were witnessing. Shaibu’s description of the occasion as a festival captured the moment perfectly. It was not simply a crowd waiting to listen to politicians. It was a city caught up in the excitement of a major political event. The rally had become an experience in its own right.

The APC’s political machinery on display

Beyond the spectacle, however, Kaduna was significant because of what it revealed about the APC’s organisational strength.
The rally brought together President Tinubu, Vice President Kashim Shettima, the APC National Chairman, Professor Nentawe Yilwatda, members of the National Working Committee, governors, ministers, legislators and party leaders from across the country. The presence of such a broad spectrum of the party’s leadership gave the occasion a national character and reinforced the campaign’s message of continuity.
For a governing party, the opening rally is more than a ceremonial exercise. It is an opportunity to test its mobilisation network, demonstrate unity, reassure supporters and establish the political narrative it hopes to sustain throughout the campaign. Kaduna gave the APC an opportunity to do all four.
The party’s ability to assemble its leaders and supporters in such numbers offered a visible demonstration of its reach in the North-West, one of Nigeria’s most consequential electoral regions. The zone contains seven states—Jigawa, Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Kebbi, Sokoto and Zamfara—and possesses substantial electoral weight.
The political importance of the region cannot be overstated. Its voting patterns can influence the national outcome, and the strength of a presidential candidate’s organisation across its communities can make a significant difference on election day.
The APC therefore chose a location with both symbolic and strategic value. Kaduna, with its history as a major administrative and political centre of Northern Nigeria, was an appropriate stage on which to launch the national campaign.

The party was not merely introducing its candidate to the electorate. It was projecting a message of readiness.
Yet the larger question remains whether the enthusiasm displayed at the rally can be sustained across the campaign period and translated into votes. That will depend on the party’s ability to move beyond stadiums and streets, strengthen its structures at ward and polling-unit levels, engage undecided voters and demonstrate that its policies are improving the daily lives of Nigerians. Kaduna supplied the opening statement. The campaign must now write the rest of the story.

Yilwatda’s message: The people have spoken

At the centre of the occasion was Professor Nentawe Yilwatda, the APC National Chairman, whose address sought to convert the energy of the gathering into a declaration of political confidence.
Welcoming President Tinubu to Kaduna, Yilwatda celebrated what he described as the President’s leadership and achievements during the first three years of his administration. He presented the next four years as an opportunity to consolidate ongoing reforms and deliver greater prosperity.
His address was both a tribute to the President and a mobilisation message to party faithful. “Mr President, the people have spoken. The voice is loud. Nigerians are happy, the women are happy, the youths are happy for your leadership. We celebrate a courageous leader,” he declared.
The statement captured the central theme of the rally: that the APC intends to frame the 2027 election as a contest between continuity under Tinubu and an opposition it believes has yet to present a sufficiently compelling alternative.
Yilwatda went further, describing the APC’s presidential candidate as the most competent choice for the country and asserting that the political atmosphere reflected growing support for the ruling party.
“The governors have spoken. Accord Party has spoken, PDP has spoken, APGA has spoken. Nigerians have spoken,” he said.
The declaration was a pointed political argument. The National Chairman was seeking to present the President’s re-election bid as a national project that could attract support beyond the APC’s traditional membership and political boundaries.
His reference to other parties should be understood as a campaign assertion about the political alignments and support the APC hopes to attract, rather than evidence that those parties, as institutions, have formally endorsed Tinubu.
Yilwatda also used the occasion to recognise the party’s governorship candidates in the north-west. In a symbolic moment, he presented APC flags to the seven governors of the zone, signalling the party’s backing for their bids for fresh mandates.
They were Uba Sani of Kaduna state, Abba Kabir Yusuf of Kano state, Dikko Umaru Radda of Katsina state, Nasir Idris of Kebbi state, Umar Namadi of Jigawa State, Ahmad Aliyu of Sokoto state and Dauda Lawal of Zamfara state.
The presentation of the flags carried significance beyond ceremony. It placed the presidential campaign within a wider electoral framework in which the APC seeks to coordinate its national and state-level ambitions.
By placing the governors and the president on the same political stage, Yilwatda projected an image of collective purpose. The message was that the APC would approach 2027 not as a collection of disconnected candidates, but as a party seeking to align its structures around a common electoral objective.
He also praised the president for the administration’s infrastructure and economic initiatives, including progress on the Abuja–Kaduna–Zaria highway corridor, and promised supporters a period of greater prosperity if the reforms being pursued by the government were sustained.
It was a clear attempt to connect the party’s electoral ambitions to the practical questions confronting voters: roads, employment, economic opportunity, security and the cost of living.

Tinubu’s Kaduna message: Reform today, prosperity tomorrow

President Tinubu’s address was the centrepiece of the rally, combining gratitude to supporters, a defence of his administration’s economic direction and an appeal for a second term.
His message was straightforward: the reforms introduced since he assumed office in May 2023, though difficult, were intended to establish a more sustainable economic foundation, and a second term would give his administration the opportunity to consolidate that foundation and translate it into broader prosperity.
The president expressed happiness at returning to Kaduna and praised the state’s political leadership. “Our governors are working,” he told the crowd, projecting confidence in the performance of APC-led administrations. He described a second term as an opportunity for prosperity and assured supporters that they would not regret giving him another mandate.
“Your opponents are angry because they have nothing to offer. APC is offering prosperity for all Nigerians,” he said, in a pointed challenge to the opposition.
He also urged supporters to look beyond political rhetoric and trust the direction in which his administration was taking the country. Promising that the APC would not disappoint Nigerians, he expressed confidence that the party could extend its electoral strength from the presidency to the National Assembly and state legislatures. “It will be APC all the way from House of Assembly to the presidency,” he declared.
The president’s comments reflected the political calculation at the heart of the campaign. The APC wants voters to see the 2027 election as a choice between sustaining a programme of economic restructuring and returning to a political order it argues failed to resolve Nigeria’s underlying economic weaknesses.
But Tinubu’s defence of his record was not confined to promises of a better tomorrow. He also addressed one of the most difficult issues facing his administration: public frustration over hunger, poverty and the rising cost of living.
At the rally, he challenged opposition leaders who had made these concerns central to their criticism of the government. “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 it,” the President said.
The statement was forceful, unmistakably political and certain to provoke debate. It sought to shift the argument from the hardship Nigerians are experiencing today to the question of how the country arrived at its present economic condition and what should be done to move it forward.
Yet the challenge for the president is to ensure that the promise of reform becomes increasingly visible in household incomes, food affordability, job creation and purchasing power. Nigerians who have endured difficult economic adjustments will expect more than an explanation of why the reforms were necessary. They will want convincing evidence that the sacrifices are producing tangible benefits.
Tinubu also pointed to the regular payment of salaries by governments as a sign of the importance of economic stability and fiscal responsibility. “The governors are paying salaries regularly,” he said, praising the state governors for their work.
For many workers, pensioners and families dependent on public-sector income, regular payment is a basic but important responsibility. For the President, it was also an opportunity to present fiscal discipline and continuity as essential components of the administration’s economic agenda.
The central promise of the speech was that the first term had laid the groundwork, while the second would focus more directly on prosperity, growth and development.
The campaign will now have to demonstrate how that promise can be realised across the different economic circumstances of Nigeria’s regions and communities.

The infrastructure argument: A road becomes part of the campaign

One of the most consequential developments associated with the Kaduna flag-off was the attention given to infrastructure, particularly the Abuja–Kaduna–Zaria–Kano highway corridor.
During the campaign event, the President inaugurated an 81-kilometre section of the Abuja–Kaduna highway, while the Minister of Works, Senator David Umahi, outlined progress on the wider dual-carriageway project. The Federal Government presented the development as evidence of its commitment to improving transportation, facilitating commerce and strengthening connectivity across the North-West.
The importance of the project extends beyond the engineering achievement. Roads connect farmers to markets, traders to customers, businesses to supply chains and communities to opportunities. On a corridor that links the federal capital with major commercial and population centres in the North, improvements to transportation can have significant economic implications.
For Kaduna and neighbouring states, the road represents the possibility of faster movement, more efficient distribution of goods and improved access to markets. For the Federal Government, it provides a concrete project around which to build its argument for continuity.
The administration’s task is to ensure that the project is completed to the required standard, that its benefits reach road users and businesses, and that the wider network of infrastructure investments delivers measurable economic value.
This is where the campaign’s argument for reform and continuity must ultimately be tested: in the quality of roads, the reliability of electricity, the availability of jobs and the capacity of ordinary Nigerians to earn a decent living.
The Kaduna rally gave the president an opportunity to showcase an infrastructure programme. The coming months will give voters an opportunity to examine its results.

An opposition struggling to establish a common direction?

If Kaduna was a demonstration of the APC’s mobilisation capacity, it also offered the ruling party an opportunity to sharpen its argument against the opposition.
The political landscape ahead of 2027 is marked by competing platforms, shifting alliances and efforts by opposition figures to establish a credible national alternative. The collapse of earlier opposition coalition arrangements and the emergence of rival political formations have complicated the task of presenting a single, coherent challenge to the incumbent.
For the APC, this presents an opportunity. A governing party with a nationwide organisational network, elected officials at multiple levels and established campaign structures has an advantage when its competitors are preoccupied with negotiations, leadership disputes and the difficult business of building a common platform. The ruling party can use that advantage to sustain a consistent message, mobilise supporters and take its case directly to voters.
The APC’s argument is that much of the opposition’s public messaging has concentrated on criticising the administration’s economic reforms without sufficiently explaining what alternative programme would replace them, how it would be financed and how it would address the structural weaknesses of the Nigerian economy.

That argument deserves to be tested against the policies and proposals actually presented by competing parties. Opposition criticism is an essential part of democratic accountability, particularly when citizens face economic hardship. But criticism becomes more persuasive when it is accompanied by a credible plan, clear priorities and a convincing explanation of how proposed alternatives would improve people’s lives.
The APC therefore has a political opportunity to challenge its opponents to move beyond denunciations and explain their economic alternatives in practical terms.
How would they finance public expenditure without undermining fiscal stability? What would they do to improve electricity supply, expand productive employment, strengthen food security and attract investment? How would they sustain infrastructure development while ensuring that the benefits of economic growth reach low-income households? These are the questions a serious presidential campaign should address.
Nevertheless, it would be premature to declare that the opposition has no electoral structure or that its eventual performance can be determined from the appearance of its alliances today. Opposition parties retain political constituencies, influential leaders and the ability to mobilise discontent.
The APC’s advantage, therefore, is not an invitation to complacency. It is a responsibility to convert organisational strength into effective governance and a persuasive case for re-election.

From Kaduna to the ballot box

The presentation of party flags to the North-West governors was one of the rally’s most politically significant moments because it connected the presidential campaign to the broader machinery of the APC.
A presidential candidate requires more than popularity. The candidate needs an effective network of party officials, campaign coordinators, elected representatives, community leaders and polling-unit agents capable of turning public support into votes.
The governors, in particular, occupy an important position in this structure. Their political relationships, knowledge of local conditions and ability to coordinate party activities can influence the effectiveness of the national campaign.
By bringing the seven North-West governors into the spotlight, the APC leadership reinforced the message that the presidential election and the party’s wider political ambitions would be pursued together.
But the flag presentation is only the beginning. The party must maintain unity, manage internal disagreements, engage communities that feel neglected and ensure that its campaign reaches beyond established supporters.
The same applies to the rest of the country. Kaduna’s turnout should inspire the APC to work harder in regions where the President’s support may be less assured. The North-West’s enthusiasm cannot substitute for the painstaking task of persuading voters across the South, the North-East, the North-Central and the South-South.
Every region has its own political dynamics, economic concerns and expectations of government. A national campaign must understand these differences while presenting a coherent national vision.
If the APC can sustain the energy witnessed in Kaduna and combine it with disciplined organisation, credible communication and demonstrable progress in governance, the opening rally may come to be remembered as an important turning point in its campaign.

The festival is over; the real work begins

As the dust settles over Kaduna, one conclusion is difficult to ignore: the APC has opened its presidential campaign with an impressive display of political enthusiasm and organisational strength.
The streets, the stadium, the singing crowds and the prolonged journey to the venue combined to create a spectacle that will remain in the memories of those who witnessed it. It was a moment of colour, sound and political theatre, but also a statement of intent from a party determined to defend its hold on power.
For Professor Yilwatda, the rally offered an opportunity to project unity and place the party’s machinery behind the President. For Tinubu, it was an opportunity to defend his economic programme, acknowledge the challenges facing the country and ask Nigerians to give his administration another term to consolidate its policies.
For the opposition, it was a reminder that the road to 2027 will require more than criticism of the incumbent. It will require credible alternatives, coherent alliances, effective mobilisation and a persuasive answer to the fundamental questions of economic management, security and national development.
The festival of endorsement has set the stage. The contest for public trust has only just begun.

*Tooki is the special adviser to the national chairman of APC (media and information strategy) and a member of the presidential campaign council