Adamawa State Governor Ahmadu Fintiri has declared that the state belongs to President Bola Tinubu despite the political influence of former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar, the presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC).
Fintiri made the declaration on Monday in Yola during the launch of the PBAT Door-to-Door Movement 2027.
The governor spoke alongside the state chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Hamza Madagali, who also expressed confidence that Tinubu would receive overwhelming support from voters in the state during the next presidential election.
Adamawa is Atiku’s home state and has traditionally been an important political base for the former vice-president, who is seeking the presidency under the ADC in the 2027 general election.
Despite Atiku’s political connection to the state, Fintiri declared that Adamawa would support Tinubu’s re-election bid.
“This is Asiwaju state,” the governor said.
He argued that the state had reasons to support Tinubu, particularly because of what he described as the president’s sacrifices and economic reforms.
Fintiri said Adamawa would stand with the president because of his efforts and the economic decisions his administration had taken since assuming office in May 2023.
According to the governor, Tinubu’s reforms had empowered state governments to undertake development projects and improve the living conditions of their residents.
He said the responsibility for economic development and reducing hardship should not rest solely on the Federal Government, adding that state governments also had a role to play.
“It is not the responsibility of the Federal Government alone to achieve development and reduce hardship. This is a Federation. We in this state will continue to do our part to improve the lives of the people,” Fintiri said.
Madagali, who spoke earlier at the event, also declared that Adamawa was firmly behind the APC and predicted that Tinubu would dominate the state’s presidential vote.
The APC chairman said he did not expect any presidential candidate other than Tinubu to secure up to 25 per cent of the votes cast in Adamawa in 2027.
Meanwhile, Kaduna State Governor Uba Sani has also expressed confidence that Tinubu will secure substantial support in his state during the 2027 presidential election.
Speaking in an interview with TVC on Sunday, a day after the APC launched Tinubu’s re-election campaign at Ranchers Bees Stadium in Kaduna, Sani said he believed opposition candidates would struggle to secure significant votes in the state.
“In Kaduna, we are not talking about 70 per cent. Allowing any candidate to even get 25 per cent in Kaduna is a failure on our side because President Tinubu has done for Kaduna something we never dreamt of having,” the governor said.
Sani attributed his confidence to what he described as the Tinubu administration’s interventions in infrastructure, education, agriculture, security and human capital development.
He also praised the president for supporting state governments and cited federal projects in Kaduna, including the reconstruction of the Kaduna–Birnin Gwari Road and proposed improvements to rail transportation.
At the APC campaign rally on Saturday, Sani told Tinubu: “No leader in the history of Nigeria has supported subnational governments as you have done, Mr President.”
However, the political claims made by the governors and APC officials come amid disagreements between the ruling party and the opposition over the level of public support for Tinubu.
The ADC criticised the APC’s Kaduna campaign launch, with its Presidential Campaign Council’s Director of Media and Publicity, Kola Ologbondiyan, alleging that supporters had been mobilised from across the North-West and beyond, with payments reportedly ranging from ₦50,000 to ₦100,000 per attendee.
Ologbondiyan also claimed that the stadium remained sparsely occupied despite the alleged mobilisation. The claims were presented by the ADC, while the APC’s campaign activities were intended to demonstrate the party’s organisational strength ahead of the election.
The results of the 2023 presidential election in Kaduna also provide a historical reference point for assessing the competing parties’ prospects in the state.
Tinubu, who contested the election under the APC, finished second in Kaduna with 399,293 votes, representing approximately 29.36 per cent of valid votes.
Atiku, then the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), won the state with 554,360 votes, representing approximately 40.76 per cent. Labour Party candidate Peter Obi received 294,494 votes, or approximately 21.65 per cent.