By Chesa Chesa
President Bola Tinubu has reaffirmed his administration’s determination to tackle insecurity, pledging improved salaries and welfare packages for personnel of the armed forces and police.
Tinubu gave the assurance on Tuesday at the Dutse Township Stadium, Jigawa State, while addressing supporters of the All Progressives Congress (APC) during his campaign rally ahead of the 2027 general elections.
The President said his administration was strengthening security agencies to enhance their capacity to protect lives and property across the country.
“We will conquer insecurity. We’ve been through many wars. We will defeat our enemies. Enemies of unity, enemies of stability, enemies of hope. I assure you that we are doing that.
“We’re strengthening the police; we’re strengthening the armed forces. We are paying better salaries today,” he said.
Tinubu also presented the APC campaign manifesto, titled From Reforms to Prosperity, outlining his administration’s achievements and policy priorities in infrastructure, healthcare, agriculture and security.
He said the manifesto provided a roadmap for consolidating economic reforms, expanding opportunities and delivering shared prosperity, promising to complete ongoing programmes and projects.
Defending the removal of the fuel subsidy, the President described calls by opposition politicians for its restoration as deceptive, questioning how they intended to finance infrastructure and other development projects without the resources saved from the policy.
“You have seen what we are doing. Across the country, no region is left behind. Those who think they should bring the subsidy back are liars.
“How will they pay for those commitments? How will you repair the roads? How will you maintain them? How will you function?” he queried.
The President also promised additional support for small-scale farmers through access to financing, mechanisation and irrigation facilities.
“We will reward small-scale farmers. Interest-free loans for farmers are coming. Prosperity is coming. Food security will happen,” he said.
Thanking the people of Jigawa for their continued loyalty and support, Tinubu urged them to participate actively in the forthcoming elections and vote for APC candidates at all levels.
Earlier, the President commissioned the Bola Ahmed Tinubu Multi-Purpose Skills Acquisition Centre and the Renewed Hope Technical Services Centre.
He also virtually commissioned the three-kilometre dualised Old Police Station–Palace Road in Dutse.
Tinubu further commissioned 400 tractors and other agricultural equipment procured by the Jigawa State Government to promote mechanised farming and strengthen food production and security.
In his welcome address, Governor Umar Namadi commended the President for his development initiatives in Jigawa and other parts of Northern Nigeria.
He highlighted the Greater Hadejia Water Project, which he said was 60 per cent complete, the Katsina–Maradi rail line and federal interventions in education, agriculture and social welfare.
Namadi thanked Tinubu for approving the establishment of Federal Colleges of Education in Dutse and Hadejia.
He particularly praised the President for fulfilling his campaign promise to the late Emir of Dutse, Dr Nuhu Muhammad Sunusi, to address the persistent water shortage in Dutse.
The governor also acknowledged the establishment of the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND), which he said had benefited thousands of students from the state, as well as the Conditional Cash Transfer programme, which had provided relief to indigent households.
However, he appealed to the Federal Government to intervene in the ecological challenges confronting Dutse and Hadejia, describing them as beyond the capacity of the state government.
Also speaking, Vice President Kashim Shettima urged the people of Jigawa to sustain their support for Tinubu, recalling the President’s political support for Northern leaders in previous presidential elections.
Shettima noted that Tinubu supported the late President Muhammadu Buhari’s presidential bids in 2015 and 2019, as well as the presidential ambitions of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and Nuhu Ribadu.
He called on the people of Jigawa to reciprocate the President’s political support by voting for the APC in the 2027 elections.
The Director-General of the APC Presidential Campaign Council, Senator Abdulaziz Yari, also reaffirmed Tinubu’s commitment to quality leadership, economic consolidation and national prosperity.
Yari challenged opposition parties to present better socioeconomic policies instead of resorting to divisive politics.
Speaking on behalf of the Progressive Governors Forum, Sokoto State Governor Ahmed Aliyu recalled Tinubu’s longstanding political relationships with prominent Northern leaders, urging Nigerians to support what he described as a focused and determined leader whose policies had helped steer the country away from the precipice.
The Deputy Director-General of the APC Presidential Campaign Council and Yobe State Governor, Mai Mala Buni, alongside the Special Adviser to the President on Political Affairs and Other Matters, Ibrahim Masari, also praised Tinubu’s leadership and urged party supporters to back all APC candidates in the forthcoming elections.
Other dignitaries at the rally included Deputy Senate President Barau Jibrin, Speaker of the House of Representatives Tajudeen Abbas, APC governors, ministers and other political leaders from across the country.
