The Tinubu Movement for Sustainable Governance Foundation (TMS), popularly known as Tinubu Must Stay, has described the large turnout that greeted President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s campaign visit to Jigawa State as an indication of growing grassroots support for his administration and re-election bid ahead of the 2027 general elections.

Speaking at the rally in Dutse, TMS Director of Special Duties, Dr. Usman Baita Elleman, said the enthusiasm displayed by residents demonstrated what the movement considers increasing acceptance of the President’s economic policies despite the hardship and criticism that accompanied their introduction.

“The rally was very beautiful. People came out in their numbers to show solidarity with the President and the governor. From what we saw today, there is no doubt that President Tinubu enjoys enormous support in Jigawa State and across Northern Nigeria,” Elleman said.

He said members of TMS, led nationally by Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi, who hails from Jigawa State, participated prominently in the mobilisation, with the movement displaying banners, billboards and other campaign materials across the state.

Elleman said TMS would intensify its campaign to explain the rationale behind some of the administration’s most consequential policies, particularly the removal of petrol subsidy.

According to him, although the reforms have imposed short-term hardship, they were introduced to address structural economic problems and place public finances on a more sustainable footing.

“We are telling Nigerians the facts about these policies. Some of the decisions may be painful, but they are aimed at putting the country on a sustainable path,” he said.

He also cited the student loan programme and other interventions targeted at young Nigerians as initiatives the movement would highlight during its grassroots engagements.

Beyond conventional political mobilisation, Elleman said TMS had been organising sensitisation and empowerment programmes for small-scale entrepreneurs, combining political advocacy with community-level interventions.

He said the movement would sustain its public enlightenment and grassroots mobilisation as political activities intensify ahead of the 2027 elections.

Tinubu Says Reforms Beginning to Gain Acceptance

Addressing supporters at the Dutse Township Stadium, President Tinubu defended his administration’s economic reforms, arguing that the policies were beginning to produce results and gain wider public acceptance.

The President maintained that petrol subsidy removal was irreversible and rejected suggestions by political opponents that the subsidy regime could be restored sustainably.

“To those who say subsidy is coming back, it’s a lie. Don’t let them lie to you again. It is not going to come back,” Tinubu told supporters.

He argued that the subsidy had consumed substantial public resources that could instead be directed towards infrastructure, agriculture, education and social development.

“We have to think about the future of our children. The money must be invested in areas that will create prosperity and opportunities for all Nigerians,” he said.

President Promises Mechanised Farming Centres, Interest-Free Loans

Turning to agriculture, Tinubu announced plans to expand government support for farmers through interest-free financing and mechanised farming service centres across the country’s six geopolitical zones.

“We have to invest in agriculture. There will be interest-free loans for farmers. Prosperity is coming. Food security will happen,” he said.

The President also pledged further investments in electricity, skills acquisition, youth empowerment, job creation and support for small and medium-sized enterprises.

On security, he said the Federal Government was strengthening the operational capacity and welfare of security agencies to improve their ability to tackle criminality.

Tinubu also described the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) as an important instrument for expanding access to higher education and tackling poverty, pledging to broaden opportunities for young Nigerians.

Shettima Highlights Northern Infrastructure

Vice-President Kashim Shettima, who also addressed the rally, said ongoing investments in infrastructure and agriculture demonstrated the administration’s commitment to Northern Nigeria.

He cited projects including the Kano-Maiduguri Road, Kano-Maradi railway and Kwanar Danja-Hadejia Road, urging residents to assess the administration on its development record.

APC campaign officials similarly described the turnout as evidence of the party’s continued political strength in the North.

TMS members were visibly involved in mobilisation at the rally, which attracted supporters from Jigawa and beyond.

For the movement, the Dutse gathering forms part of a wider strategy combining support for Tinubu’s re-election with policy sensitisation, community engagement and economic empowerment as Nigeria moves closer to the 2027 general elections.

By Yusuf Danjuma Yunusa

The Senator representing Abia North, Orji Kalu, has disclosed that he previously traded in heavy weapons internationally, saying he sold arms to buyers who could afford them before abandoning the business at his parents’ insistence.

Kalu made the disclosure during an interview on Arise Television on Monday, while discussing his longstanding relationships with former and current South African leaders.

The former Abia State governor said his business interests previously extended beyond Nigeria, adding that he dealt in heavy weapons sold from one country to another.

When asked by the interviewer whether he was an arms dealer, Kalu responded, “Yes, so I stopped because my…”

Explaining why he abandoned the business, he said his parents asked him to quit.

“But my parents, my mother, my father came and said I must stop, and I stopped,” he said.

Asked whether he sold weapons to people who intended to use them to kill others, Kalu dismissed the suggestion, insisting that his interest was making money.

“No, no, no, no, no, no. I was selling guns to make money, whether they blow up it’s not my business,” he said.

The interviewer subsequently asked whether he supplied weapons to the African National Congress during the struggle against apartheid in South Africa.

Kalu denied selling exclusively to the ANC, saying his customers included anyone willing to pay for the weapons.

“No, I was selling to anybody who wants to buy. If you have the money, you want to buy in D.R.C, I sell to you, you want to buy in Namibia, you want to buy…” he said.

Mustapha Rabiu Kwankwaso, the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) Deputy Governorship Candidate in Kano State, has threatened legal action against the newly appointed Commissioner for Information, accusing him of making false, malicious and damaging allegations against his person and family.

Kwankwaso, a former Kano State Commissioner for Youth and Sports, gave the Information Commissioner a 48-hour ultimatum to withdraw the alleged defamatory statements and tender an unreserved public apology to him, his family and the people of Kano State.

The former commissioner made the demand in a statement issued in response to comments allegedly made by the Information Commissioner during a programme, in which he accused Kwankwaso of having visited several rehabilitation centres across the world and suggested that his personal circumstances influenced his father, former Governor Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, to establish the Kiru Reformatory Institute.

Kwankwaso described the allegations as false, malicious and an attempt to assassinate his character, insisting that they were intended to distract the people of Kano State from pressing issues of governance.

On the establishment of the Kiru Reformatory Institute, the NDC deputy governorship candidate maintained that the claim that the institution was established because of him was historically inaccurate.

He explained that during his father’s second tenure as governor of Kano State, when the institute was established, he was residing in Dubai and was not even in the country.

According to him, the Kiru Reformatory Institute was established as a deliberate government policy aimed at reforming, rehabilitating and reintegrating young people into society by providing them with opportunities for a better future.

Kwankwaso argued that reducing the establishment of the institution to a personal family matter was an insult to the people of Kano State and thousands of young people whose lives had reportedly been transformed through the initiative.

Reacting to allegations that his father did not trust him with the management of Skyline University, Mewar University or his farm, Kwankwaso dismissed the claims as lies.

He said his father had mentored and trained him to become an independent person rather than someone who depended on family connections or financial handouts.

The former commissioner further disclosed that he had established several businesses through personal effort, including a rice mill which, according to him, provides employment opportunities for people and contributes to Kano State’s economy.

He maintained that his business achievements were products of hard work, discipline and the values instilled in him by his father, insisting that the suggestion that his father did not trust him was unfounded.

On his previous appointment as Commissioner for Youth and Sports under the Kano State Government, Kwankwaso expressed appreciation to Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf for giving him the opportunity to serve in the State Executive Council.

He said he discharged his responsibilities with sincerity, commitment and loyalty to the people of Kano State, particularly the youth population.

Kwankwaso, however, condemned the Information Commissioner’s alleged description of his appointment as “executive rehabilitation,” arguing that the remark was an insult to the office he occupied and the responsibilities he discharged.

He insisted that his appointment was based on the responsibility to serve the state and not an attempt to rehabilitate him, adding that such comments also undermined the dignity of the State Executive Council and the youths he represented.

The NDC chieftain also questioned the responsibility of the newly appointed Information Commissioner, asking whether he was appointed to communicate government policies, programmes and achievements to the public or to engage in personal attacks against political opponents.

He further challenged the commissioner to clarify whether the allegations were his personal invention or whether he was acting on behalf of his principal.

Kwankwaso maintained that the office of the Commissioner for Information was an important public institution that should be used to inform citizens about government activities rather than serve as a platform for character assassination, personal insults and political attacks.

He warned that failure to withdraw the alleged statements and issue the demanded apology within 48 hours would leave him with no option but to seek legal redress.

The former commissioner said he was prepared to pursue every available legal remedy to protect his reputation, his family’s name and his record of public service.

He added that he would not allow himself to be drawn into personal insults, stressing that his attention remained focused on his political aspiration and efforts to contribute to a better future for Kano State.

Kwankwaso concluded by urging political actors to focus on issues, policies, programmes and performance rather than resorting to allegations bordering on the personal character of political opponents.

The Information Commissioner was accused of making the allegations, but his response to Kwankwaso’s 48-hour ultimatum was not contained in the statement.