President Bola Tinubu and leaders of the All Progressives Congress will on Saturday kick off the president’s re-election campaign in Kaduna State, as the ruling party intensifies efforts to secure support across the North, which accounts for 56.01 million of Nigeria’s 103.43 million registered voters.
With 31 state governors and other party chieftains expected at the campaign flag-off, the APC is banking on what its leaders describe as a growing consensus among northern stakeholders and voters to secure Tinubu’s re-election in 2027.
The party has also set an ambitious target of mobilising 40 million votes through grassroots engagement, particularly among women, with its leaders expressing confidence that Nigerians will support the President for a second term.
However, the opposition has challenged the APC’s optimism, arguing that economic hardship, rising living costs and persistent insecurity could undermine Tinubu’s re-election bid. The camp of former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar insists that Nigerians across regional and religious divides are prepared to vote out the ruling party.
The Kaduna rally is particularly significant given the North’s numerical strength in presidential elections and Tinubu’s loss in the state during the 2023 presidential poll.
Against this backdrop, party leaders and northern stakeholders, including Salihu Mustapha, a member of Arewa for Asiwaju and former APC National Vice Chairman for the North-East, said there was a consensus among stakeholders and voters in Kaduna State to support Tinubu’s re-election bid in 2027.
Similarly, APC chieftain and Head of the Presidential Campaign Council’s Stage Organisation and Management, Farouk Aliyu, expressed confidence that Tinubu would emerge victorious in the election.
However, the camp of former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar, the presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress, dismissed Tinubu’s chances of winning a second term, insisting that northerners and other Nigerians were determined to vote the APC out of power.
Meanwhile, Oyo State Governor and presidential candidate of the Allied Peoples Movement, Seyi Makinde, has appealed to Nigerians to allow him to complete the South’s four-year presidential tenure.
According to the Independent National Electoral Commission, Nigeria has 103.43 million registered voters across the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory.
Lagos has the highest number of registered voters, with 7.49 million, followed by Kano with 6.57 million and Kaduna with 4.66 million. Katsina has 3.88 million, Rivers 3.74 million, Oyo 3.59 million and Delta 3.53 million.
Other states include Benue, with 3.06 million registered voters; Ogun, 3.04 million; Bauchi, 3.01 million; Niger, 2.98 million; Anambra, 2.92 million; Plateau, 2.91 million; Edo, 2.87 million; Jigawa, 2.81 million; Borno, 2.77 million; Imo, 2.71 million; Sokoto, 2.63 million; Akwa Ibom, 2.57 million; Adamawa, 2.43 million; Osun, 2.33 million; Kebbi and Abia, 2.31 million each; Taraba, 2.25 million; Kogi, 2.23 million; Zamfara and Enugu, 2.22 million each; Nasarawa, 2.14 million; and Ondo, 2.12 million.
Cross River has 1.93 million registered voters, Kwara 1.92 million, Ebonyi 1.83 million, Gombe 1.77 million, Yobe 1.73 million, Bayelsa 1.20 million and Ekiti 1.06 million. The Federal Capital Territory has 1.73 million registered voters.
By geopolitical zone, the North-West has the highest number of registered voters, with 25.08 million, followed by the South-West with 19.61 million and the North-Central with 16.97 million. The South-South has 15.82 million voters, while the North-East and South-East have 13.97 million and 11.98 million, respectively.
