By Taibat Ummi Yakubu

Katsina State Governor, Dr Dikko Umar Radda, has thrown the political weight of the state behind President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, assuring him that Katsina will mobilise massively for his re-election bid in the 2027 presidential election.

Radda made the commitment on Saturday evening at the People’s Square in Katsina during the flag-off and inauguration of the Katsina State structure of the PBAT Door-to-Door Movement, a grassroots political mobilisation group established to drum up support for Tinubu ahead of the 2027 polls.

The governor expressed appreciation to the founder and convener of the movement, High Chief Government Ekpemupolo, popularly known as Tompolo, for choosing Katsina as the first northern state to launch the initiative.

According to Radda, the decision was significant because Katsina remains one of the strongest political bases of the All Progressives Congress (APC), with all elected political office holders in the state belonging to the ruling party.

He described the party's structure in Katsina as united across all 34 local government areas and said the state has developed a special political bond with President Tinubu.

“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,” the governor said.

Radda traced the relationship between Tinubu and Katsina to years of political interaction involving prominent northern leaders.

He recalled Tinubu's contribution to the political process that culminated in the emergence of Muhammadu Buhari, a native of Daura in Katsina State, as president in 2015.

The governor also referenced Tinubu's longstanding relationship with the late General Shehu Yar'Adua and the ties that continued with the late President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua, describing such relationships as part of the broader political connections that have strengthened cooperation between different parts of the country.

Radda further linked the choice of Katsina for the northern launch of the movement to the state's historical relationship with the Niger Delta.

He cited the late President Umaru Yar'Adua's intervention in the Niger Delta through the Presidential Amnesty Programme as an example of how political cooperation between northern Nigeria and the Niger Delta contributed to peace and stability.

Turning to the Tinubu administration, the governor praised the President's economic reforms, saying they had increased the resources available to state governments while also creating greater financial autonomy for local governments.

Advertisement

Radda argued that stronger resources at the grassroots level could translate into better delivery of basic services, including roads, schools, healthcare facilities, water supply, sanitation and markets.

“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,” he said.

The governor then delivered his strongest political message of the evening, assuring Tinubu that Katsina would remain firmly behind his administration as the 2027 election approaches.

“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,” Radda declared.

Representing the founder of the movement, High Chief Kestin Pondi said the relationship between Tinubu and Katsina was built on trust, confidence and inclusion.

He urged members of the PBAT Door-to-Door Movement to take the administration's message directly to the people rather than relying solely on conventional political rallies.

According to him, the movement's grassroots engagement should extend to wards, communities, markets and individual households as part of efforts to build support ahead of the 2027 election.

The Katsina State Coordinator of the movement, Dr Faisal Kaita, also pledged that the newly inaugurated coordinators would take the campaign message across the state.

Kaita said the 34 local government coordinators inaugurated during the event were prepared to reach towns, villages and households with what he described as the message of renewed hope.

The event attracted prominent members of the APC in Katsina State and ended with the presentation of campaign vehicles to coordinators representing the movement across the state's 34 local government areas.

With the 2027 general elections drawing closer, the Katsina declaration represents another significant show of political support for President Tinubu, as political movements increasingly shift their mobilisation efforts from party structures to the grassroots.