Several governors of the Northern states and stakeholders of the All Progressives Congress trooped out on Saturday to drum support for the party’s presidential candidate, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, and his running mate, Senator Kashim Shettima, at his campaign rally in Maiduguri, Borno State capital.
The development came about 48 hours after a similar spectacle was recorded in Ibadan, Oyo State, where the APC rally brought the former headquarters of the defunct Western Region to a standstill.
In Maiduguri, major streets of the city, especially those leading from the Borno State Government House to the palace of the Shehu of Borno and El-Kanemi Stadium, venue of the campaign rally, were filled with jubilant supporters bearing colourful APC placards and banners.
In attendance were the National Chairman of the party, Senator Abdullahi Adamu, members of the National Working Committee of the party, Governors Abdullahi Sule (Nasarawa), Muhammad Inuwa Yahaya (Gombe), Abdullahi Ganduje (Kano), Mai Mala Buni (Yobe), Abubakar Badaru (Jigawa) and Abubakar Sani Bello (Niger).
Others were Minister of State for Agriculture, Mustapha Baba Shehuri, members of the National Assembly, former chiefs of army staff, Lt. Gen. Abdulrahman Dambazau (retd.) and Lt. Gen. Tukur Buratai (retd.), among other members of the party.
But the absence of Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai was felt at the carnival-like event.
The heavy campaign train brought human and vehicular movements to a halt in major parts of the city as many supporters abandoned their vehicles to trek long distances to catch a glimpse of the APC presidential candidate.
Speaking at the rally and the Shehu palace, key stakeholders assured the former Lagos State governor of victory at the February 25th poll.
The colourful event also witnessed the coming together of key players in Borno politics including all its former governors who expressed commitment to APC’s victory.
In his address at the palace, Borno State Governor, Prof Babagana Zulum, expressed gratitude to Tinubu for picking a son of the state as his running mate.
“You have done all for us and now it is for us to deliver APC in Borno State,” he said.
Continuing, Zulum described the APC candidate as being more than a political ally as he had shown concerns for the difficult times the state went through at the peak of the Boko Haram insurgency more than anyone else.
He said, “During our trying times he has always been with us. He has visited us between seven and eight times in the last eleven years. There is nobody else that has done anything like that for us.”
Taking turns to address the rally, former Borno State governors, Maina Ma’aji Lawal, Ali Modu Sheriff and Kashim Shettima, said Borno’s faith in APC has been strengthened with Shettima’S nomination as the vice presidential candidate of the party.
They assured Tinubu that the state would fulfil its part by giving overwhelming votes to him.
Governors Badaru Abubakar of Jigawa and Mai Mala Buni of Yobe state, challenged residents of the state to not allow any state overtake them in giving the APC more votes in view of the party’s magnanimity to them.
In his speech, Tinubu promised to re-activate oil exploration in the Lake Chad Basin and recharge the drying lake to generate jobs and boost agricultural production in the area.
“Security is top on our agenda and Nigeria will see peace and stability. The Borno people and their neighbours will witness prosperity and happiness,” he said.
Tinubu assuaged the feeling of those who are facing difficulties at the moment, saying ease would soon come their way.
The presidential candidate paid tribute to his running mate who, he said, he knew very well, saying the two of them share attributes that would be used to make Nigeria greater.
He said just like he did in Lagos, Shettima has also done the same in Borno by laying a good foundation and ensuring good leadership succession.
“Zulum is a symbol of continuity. Shettima is a representation of achievement,” he said.