Kaduna State Governor, Uba Sani, has dismissed growing claims of a northern backlash against President Bola Tinubu ahead of the 2027 presidential election, insisting that the President is poised to dramatically improve his performance in the state and could secure between 70 and 80 per cent of the votes cast.

Sani, who spoke against the backdrop of the political realignment ahead of the 2027 elections, argued that the belief that the North had become hostile to Tinubu was largely driven by political assumptions rather than an assessment of the situation on the ground.

In an interview on Channels television yesterday, the governor maintained that neither the North nor Kaduna State was against the President, stressing that the political mood in the region should not be judged solely from social media activities or statements by opposition politicians.

His prediction is significant because Kaduna was one of the major northern states where former Vice President Atiku Abubakar defeated Tinubu in the 2023 presidential election. Atiku secured 554,360 votes against Tinubu’s 399,293, a margin of more than 155,000 votes.

The outcome had subsequently fuelled speculation that the All Progressives Congress (APC) might struggle to retain the state in 2027, particularly amid political disagreements involving supporters of former governor 2027 presidential election and the current administration.

But Sani rejected that assessment, insisting that the political dynamics in Kaduna had changed considerably since 2023.

According to him, the state’s electorate is among the most politically sophisticated in the North and cannot be taken for granted by any political party.

“Kaduna is not like other states. We are highly educated. Our people do not believe in politicians coming to say, ‘I will do this, I will do that,’ without explaining how they will do it,” he said.

He argued that the electorate was more interested in concrete achievements than campaign rhetoric, maintaining that the APC’s prospects in 2027 would be determined by its ability to demonstrate what it had delivered to the people.

Sani also attributed part of the APC’s poor performance in southern Kaduna in 2023 to the political alignment of influential local politicians, many of whom were then in opposition parties.

He noted that several of those politicians had since moved into the APC, arguing that the political configuration that produced the 2023 result could therefore not simply be replicated in 2027.

The governor pointed to what he described as major interventions by the Tinubu administration in Kaduna as evidence that the President was already strengthening his political standing in the state.

Among them, he cited the establishment of a Federal University of Science and Technology in southern Kaduna and the development of a federal medical centre.

Sani also credited Tinubu and his predecessor, Muhammadu Buhari, with contributing to the development of Kaduna, while acknowledging that the state still faced significant infrastructure deficits.

He said his administration inherited a situation in which 12 local government areas had no completed kilometre of road, a condition that, he argued, naturally generated resentment and protests among residents.

“If people feel marginalised and they protest over infrastructure deficits, why should they not protest? I spent most of my life as a civil rights activist fighting for the rule of law, justice and fairness,” he said.

Rather than suppressing such protests, Sani said his administration had responded by taking infrastructure projects to different parts of the state.

He cited several local government areas where, according to him, communities had waited for years for meaningful road construction.

The governor’s argument is that dissatisfaction over poor infrastructure should not automatically be interpreted as opposition to the APC or Tinubu, particularly where his administration is addressing some of the grievances.

El-Rufai factor
The governor also played down the potential impact of former governor Nasir El-Rufai and his supporters on the APC’s chances in 2027, amid claims that the former governor was being politically persecuted.

Some of El-Rufai’s supporters have alleged that recent developments involving the former governor amount to political witch-hunting, a position that has contributed to tensions within the APC and speculation over possible realignment ahead of 2027.

But Sani declined to be drawn into what he described as personality-driven politics.

“I don’t do politics of sentiments. I’m not going to talk about any personality here. I respect him. I value him,” he said, adding that his focus was on strengthening the APC.

He maintained that the party should concentrate on its political objective rather than allowing disagreements involving individual politicians to define its campaign.

His position comes as the APC grapples with internal disagreements over the composition of its campaign structures, with reports of infighting surrounding the list of members recently released by the party.
Although the party has indicated that adjustments could be made to the list, the controversy has renewed questions about the level of cohesion within the ruling party as it prepares for the 2027 contest.

For Sani, however, the more important battle is not over personalities but over how political parties communicate their programmes and demonstrate the capacity to implement them.

He criticised politicians who make ambitious promises during television appearances without explaining where the resources to execute them would come from.

According to him, voters should demand practical answers rather than simply accepting attractive campaign promises.

He cited proposals by politicians to provide millions of naira to individual students as an example of promises that should be subjected to scrutiny.

“Someone will come and sit here and tell you that when I become governor, or when I become president, I will ensure that every student is given N10 million. You allow him to walk away without asking: how do you do it?” he asked.

Subsidy removal
The governor also defended the Tinubu administration’s decision to remove the petrol subsidy, rejecting claims that the policy had failed to improve the welfare of ordinary Nigerians.

He argued that some of the socioeconomic problems frequently blamed on the subsidy removal predated the Tinubu administration.

Sani pointed specifically to financial exclusion and the large number of out-of-school children, questioning whether those problems could reasonably be attributed to the President.

He said available data showed that millions of Nigerians were financially excluded before Tinubu assumed office, while the country’s out-of-school population was already a major national challenge.

The governor’s defence of the policy reflects one of the central arguments likely to shape the 2027 campaign: whether the hardship experienced by Nigerians since the removal of the petrol subsidy should be treated primarily as a consequence of Tinubu’s reforms or as the result of structural problems inherited by his administration.

For Sani, opposition politicians must provide a credible alternative rather than simply criticising the government’s policies.
‘
North not against Tinubu’
Perhaps the governor’s strongest political assertion was his rejection of the narrative that the North had turned against Tinubu.

Asked whether there was a storm building against the President in the North, Sani responded: “No way. It is not possible.”

He predicted that Tinubu would win convincingly across the Northwest, Northeast and North-Central zones.

He said the assumption that northern voters would automatically reject Tinubu ignored the practical nature of Nigerian elections and the importance of sustained grassroots engagement.

According to him, presidential elections cannot be won through television appearances, social media campaigns or activities concentrated in state capitals and major cities.

He said Nigeria has thousands of political wards and that serious contenders must establish their presence at that level.

“You don’t contest with the President by campaigning in Abuja,” he said, stressing that elections were “practical” and had to be fought at the grassroots.

For now, however, Sani insists that the narrative of a northern revolt against Tinubu is misplaced.