Is the race for Aso Rock already won? That’s what the APC wants you to believe as President Bola Tinubu picks Kaduna for a very symbolic 2027 flag-off.

So, it’s officially game on for 2027.

President Bola Tinubu will kick-start his re-election bid in Kaduna on October 24. The announcement was made by Senator Abdulaziz Yari, the Director-General of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential Campaign Council, after a closed-door briefing with the President at the Aso Rock Villa in Abuja on Friday.

And Yari says they’re not playing around.

According to cbinews.tv, Yari told State House correspondents: “By God’s grace, his team, I, and Mr President himself, we have agreed on how it’s going to be done. We have put forward a proposal. The inaugural meeting [of the campaign council] is going to be done on the 14th of this month... and by God’s grace, on the 24th of October, we’re going to do our flag-off campaign in Kaduna, inshallah.”

Why Kaduna first? It’s strategic. Kaduna is a swing state in the North-West, Nigeria’s largest voting bloc. Starting there is a clear message: “We have the North locked.”

Yari was even more blunt about the opposition. When asked about Peter Obi of the Nigeria Democratic Congress and former Vice President Atiku Abubakar of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), he went spiritual and political at once.

“We are talking of the President of the country, and this President, who, by God’s grace, Almighty God used him to support Atiku some time back, and at the same time to support Peter Obi. So, if Allah uses me to support you, there is no way Allah will use you to bring me down,” Yari told cbinews.tv.

Then he brought out what he calls simple electoral arithmetic — and this is where the history matters.

In Nigeria’s Fourth Republic, no one wins the presidency without a foot in both North and South. Yari reminded everyone that the late President Muhammadu Buhari, despite controlling over 70% of the North — about 11 states at the time — could not win until he forged an alliance with the South-West in 2015.

“Can the ADC candidate today in the southern part of the country beat his chest and say he has control of one state in the South? And I don’t think Peter Obi... can say he has control of one state in northern Nigeria?” Yari asked.

His calculation: even 80% control of one region is useless without the other. He claims Tinubu, by contrast, controls “more than 10 states in the South” and “more than 10 states in the North” — giving him a national spread neither Atiku nor Obi currently has. With 18 presidential candidates cleared by INEC, including Atiku with Rotimi Amaechi as running mate, that spread could be decisive.

Beyond the calculations, what does this mean for ordinary Nigerians?

Yari’s pitch wasn’t about promises this time. “We are not promising. We are doing it, and we are going to continue,” he said, pointing to the economy. For many Nigerians in Lagos, Kano, Onitsha and Maiduguri who have endured fuel subsidy removal, naira reforms and cost-of-living pressures since 2023, the 2027 campaign will be a referendum on whether those tough reforms are finally “moving” the economy, as the APC claims, or whether change is needed.

The choice of Kaduna also has a human resonance — a state that has faced insecurity but also remains a melting pot of Christian and Muslim, northern and southern cultures. If Tinubu can draw a massive crowd there, it sets the tone.

Why It Matters?

This is more than a rally date. Here’s why you should care:

1. It sets the clock: Once Tinubu flags off, expect every other major candidate to accelerate. INEC’s timetable is tight — just five months of official campaigning.

2. It tests APC unity: Yari himself was appointed only on August 22, 2026. His ability to unite APC governors, especially in the North where Buhari’s legacy still looms large, will be crucial.

3. It frames the narrative: The APC wants 2027 to be about “continuity vs inexperience” and national spread. The opposition wants it to be about hardship and a fresh start.

How Does Nigeria’s Presidential Election Actually Work?

A candidate must not only get the highest number of votes overall but also get at least 25% of votes in at least 24 of Nigeria’s 36 states plus the FCT. That’s why Yari’s North-South maths matters. You can win Lagos and Kano with huge margins and still lose if you don’t have that spread.

What’s Next?

1. October 14: Watch the State House Banquet Hall for the inauguration of the APC Presidential Campaign Council. That’s where we’ll see who is really in the inner circle.

2. October 24: The big flag-off in Kaduna. Expect the full manifesto and policy direction.

3. After that: Timetable drop. Port Harcourt and Maiduguri are next — a South-South and North-East play to show that 25% spread in real time.

As cbinews.tv will continue to report, the road to January 16, 2027, has just begun.

Source: cbinews.tv

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