By KUNLE TINUBU
IT has been three days since the All Progressives Congress (APC), to which I belong, officially commenced its campaign rallies. Kaduna, the former political epicentre of Northern Nigeria, served as the launch ground.
To the chagrin of Nasir El-Rufai, the African Democratic Congress strategist, who watched the successful outing from detention, he could not grasp the fact that President Bola Tinubu is on course for victory.
The massive Kaduna Township Stadium was filled to capacity. Supporters raised their brooms and enthusiastically declared their readiness to sweep away the opposition.
The crowd and outpouring of support clearly showed that Tinubu, despite the propaganda by opposition parties, remains popular, particularly in Northern Nigeria, where he has invested during his first term.
The next stop is Nyesom Wike’s Rivers State, where the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory has laid the groundwork for Tinubu to have an unrivalled campaign that would ensure his victory in 2027.
I am sure that when Rotimi Amaechi, the unpopular running mate of Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, sees the level of planning, coordination and turnout that will greet the rally, he will kill his presidential ambition in his mind.
The date is November 7, 2026, approximately 11 days from today. He should watch out. I promise he will not be disappointed.
Other states on our itinerary include Plateau, where we will visit Jos; Oyo, with Ibadan as our destination; Borno, where we will visit Maiduguri; Enugu; Bauchi; Sokoto; Delta, with Asaba as our destination; Kano; and Adamawa, where we will visit Yola. Lagos will host the grand finale of the campaign rallies.
Our schedule and movement from one state to another are products of careful planning and a determination to ensure that the President emerges victorious in 2027, just as we were very deliberate in selecting those who make up the Presidential Campaign Council.
Our National Publicity Secretary, Felix Morka, captured this approach when he said: “We are not taking this for granted. We are taking it very seriously. We are in this to compete with other political parties and to win the support of Nigerians. Since 2023, there is a reason that our party has been very successful. Since the last general elections, we have won fantastically all elections in which we have contested. There is a reason for that, and it is because we prepare. We do our homework. We are working hard to win this election.”
The keywords in his statement are homework and hard work. These, in my view, are missing from the political lexicon of our opponents. Before now, PBAT had put in such work by wooing governors to join the APC. His meaningful projects, disdain for witch-hunting opposition parties and commitment to ensuring that every state in the country grows at an equal rate have endeared even his worst enemies to join us.
Today, PBAT is heading into the 2027 presidential election with 33 governors, 33 deputy governors, 93 senators, 292 members of House of Representatives, 47 ministers, 700 local government chairmen and 13 million registered APC members.
Among those who do not belong to the APC but are working day and night to ensure the President’s victory are Ademola Adeleke of Osun State, Chukwuma Soludo of Anambra State and the relentless Wike.
Also is Ambassador Bianca Ojukwu, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, who is a prominent member of the Board of Trustees for the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA)
With all of these decisive steps, why would the opposition still think that PBAT and the APC have planned the outcome of the poll? It has to be said that the opposition is lazy, and their consistent shouting of rigging, rigging is just an excuse to mask their failures. Why would a party seeking to get power constantly play the blame game?
The recent controversy over the NDC’s expression-of-interest forms offers an example of what I consider this tendency to be. Last weekend, the party blamed the APC for making its forms for elective positions too expensive. It also claimed that 80 per cent of its candidates for the 2027 elections could not afford the forms.
Osa Director, who is unknowingly killing their image, in a statement, said the candidates could not afford the party’s forms due to the high level of hunger and poverty in Nigeria
Suggesting that the inability of the candidates to buy the expression of interest forms affected the NDC’s finances, he blamed the APC for the hunger and poverty in the country.
Meanwhile, from all of the work done by the APC, one thing I can confidently say is this: PBAT does not need to rig the election before he wins because has done his underground work, building up structures and alliances. 2027 is assured and the fate of Jagaban has been sealed. Let the opposition hide their faces and learn to be calculative, strategic and futuristic.
Oyatomi Esq., is a former Editor, Sunday Vanguard 1999-2010, Author FINGERPRINTS: Nigeria’s Tangled Transition to Nationhood (2008); and currently on the Board of Independent Media & Policy Initiative (IMPI), a Think-Tank based in Abuja.
