A report that some northern All Progressives Congress candidates are omitting President Bola Ahmed Tinubu from campaign materials leaves a key question open before Nigeria’s 2027 election.
BusinessDay reported Nov. 1 that some candidates used materials bearing Tinubu’s image in cities but left him off versions circulated in rural areas. The outlet named no candidates or locations and said the account was unsubstantiated.
The Oct. 24 rally in Kaduna offers a localized point of comparison. The State House said 32 APC governors attended, while Premium Times reported that posters and banners featuring Tinubu, Kaduna Gov. Uba Sani and other APC leaders appeared in the state capital before the event. Those accounts cover Kaduna, not campaign activity across the North.
A Journal of African Elections study compiling election results counted 12,228,491 votes for Muhammadu Buhari and 3,694,919 for Goodluck Jonathan across the northern zones in 2015. The study reported the Federal Capital Territory separately, so those totals exclude it.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) recorded 1,760,993 votes for Tinubu in North-Central, 1,185,458 in North-East and 2,641,306 in North-West in 2023, for a combined 5,587,757. INEC includes the Federal Capital Territory in North-Central. The APC led in North-Central and North-West, while the Peoples Democratic Party received 1,741,846 votes in North-East, ahead of the APC.
Economic conditions also featured in the campaign debate. The Central Bank of Nigeria reported headline inflation of 14.63% year over year in September, down from 15.39% in August; the National Bureau of Statistics put food inflation at 19.59%. Reuters reported petrol prices of about ₦1,400 per liter in Lagos and Abuja and as much as ₦1,500 in parts of Northern Nigeria that month.
At the Kaduna rally, Tinubu blamed the opposition for hunger and poverty, saying his government was trying to eradicate them. Phrank Shaibu, a spokesperson for Atiku Abubakar’s campaign, called the blame “a staggering case of political amnesia,” Reuters reported.
INEC has scheduled the presidential and National Assembly election for Jan. 16, 2027.
