Katsina State Governor, Malam Dikko Umar Radda, has assured President Bola Ahmed Tinubu of the state’s support and mobilisation for his re-election in the 2027 presidential election.
Radda gave the assurance on Saturday during the flag-off and inauguration of the Katsina State structure of the PBAT Door-to-Door Movement at People’s Square, Katsina.
The governor described Katsina as a stronghold of the All Progressives Congress, saying the party has an established structure across the state’s 34 Local Government Areas and enjoys the support of elected political office holders.
The launch of the movement marks the beginning of its grassroots mobilisation activities in Katsina, with coordinators expected to take the campaign for Tinubu’s re-election to wards, communities, markets and households across the state.
Radda thanked the founder and convener of the PBAT Door-to-Door Movement, High Chief Government Oweizide Ekpemupolo, popularly known as Tompolo, for choosing Katsina as the first state in northern Nigeria for the launch of the initiative.
The governor said the choice of Katsina was significant given the state’s longstanding role in Nigeria’s political history and its relationship with political leaders across different regions of the country.
“Katsina State is an APC state. Every elected person in Katsina State is a member of the All Progressives Congress, and I want to assure you that Katsina State has a special attachment to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu,” Radda said.
He traced the political relationship between Tinubu and Katsina to historical ties between the President and prominent northern political leaders, recalling Tinubu’s involvement in the political process that preceded the emergence of the late President Muhammadu Buhari from Daura in the 2015 presidential election.
According to the governor, the relationship between Tinubu and Katsina also has historical links with the late General Shehu Musa Yar’Adua and the late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua.
He said such relationships demonstrated the importance of political cooperation and collaboration between leaders and communities from different parts of the country.
Radda also connected the launch of the movement in Katsina to the late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua’s intervention in the Niger Delta through the Presidential Amnesty Programme.
He described the programme as an example of how collaboration between northern and Niger Delta political interests could contribute to peace and national development.
The governor said the Tinubu administration’s economic reforms had also provided state governments with increased resources to implement projects and programmes for citizens.
He specifically cited increased financial resources available to states and the greater financial autonomy being accorded Local Governments, saying the development could improve service delivery at the grassroots.
“President Bola Ahmed Tinubu came with a lot of reforms which have enabled state governors to do a lot of good work for the people of our states. We should remain ever grateful to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu,” Radda stated.
He urged citizens to assess the reforms by considering their potential impact on development, particularly in sectors directly affecting communities.
The governor listed roads, education, healthcare, water supply, sanitation and markets among areas where improved resources could translate into better services for citizens at the local level.
Radda subsequently gave an explicit assurance of Katsina’s political support for the President ahead of the 2027 election.
“President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, I want you to be rest assured that Katsina State is your state and will not let you down. We will support you, our people will support you, Insha Allah, so that you can continue with the good work you have started for the good people of Nigeria,” he said.
Speaking on behalf of the movement’s founder, High Chief Kestin Ebimorbowei Pondi said the relationship between Tinubu and Katsina State was founded on trust, confidence and inclusion.
Pondi, who represented Ekpemupolo at the event, urged members of the movement to take the message of the Tinubu administration to Nigerians at the grassroots through direct engagement.
He said the door-to-door strategy would involve reaching people in wards, communities, markets and households as part of efforts to explain the administration’s policies and mobilise support ahead of the 2027 election.
The Katsina State APC Chairman, Dr Bishir Gambo Saulawa, described the party in the state as a united political family preparing for the next general election.
Saulawa urged the PBAT Door-to-Door Movement to work closely with APC Local Government chairmen and the party’s existing structures to ensure effective coordination of its activities.
He said cooperation between the movement and the party would help prevent duplication of efforts while strengthening grassroots mobilisation.
The Coordinator of Renewed Hope in Katsina State and former Deputy Governor, Tukur Ahmed Jikamshi, also highlighted the state’s historical contribution to Nigeria’s political development.
Jikamshi said the APC remained united across the state’s 361 wards and 34 Local Government Areas, insisting that the party had no faction.
He described the existing structure as an advantage that could support the movement’s grassroots mobilisation efforts ahead of the 2027 elections.
The Katsina State Coordinator of the PBAT Door-to-Door Movement, Dr Faisal Umar Kaita, said the 34 Local Government Area coordinators inaugurated at the event were prepared to take the message of renewed hope to communities across the state.
Kaita said the coordinators would work towards reaching towns, villages and individual households, with the objective of expanding awareness and support for the movement.
A major feature of the inauguration was the presentation of campaign vehicles to coordinators of the movement across the 34 Local Government Areas.
The vehicles are expected to support the coordinators in carrying out mobilisation activities and reaching communities across Katsina State as the 2027 political season approaches.
The event was attended by senior government officials, APC leaders, former deputy governors, members of the Katsina State House of Assembly, Local Government chairmen, party stakeholders and members of the PBAT Door-to-Door Movement.
The launch comes as political groups and parties across Nigeria intensify grassroots mobilisation ahead of the 2027 general elections, with Katsina expected to remain an important political constituency because of its large electorate and longstanding influence in northern Nigerian politics.
For the PBAT Door-to-Door Movement, the inauguration provides a formal structure through which its campaign activities can be coordinated across the state’s 34 Local Government Areas and 361 wards.
For the Katsina State Government and APC leadership, the event also provided an opportunity to publicly reaffirm the state’s political alignment with Tinubu ahead of the 2027 presidential contest.
West Trybe reports that Katsina has traditionally been a significant political base in northern Nigeria, while the state’s large network of wards and Local Government Areas provides a substantial grassroots structure for political mobilisation. The effectiveness of the newly inaugurated movement will ultimately depend on how well its coordinators work with existing party structures and translate the campaign from political rallies into sustained engagement with voters across communities.
