Kaduna State Governor, Uba Sani, has declared his readiness to take political risks in defence of President Bola Tinubu’s re-election bid, arguing that their shared struggle for democracy and what he described as federal government benefits to Kaduna State justify his continued support for the president.
Sani, who said he had no regrets backing Tinubu despite public complaints about economic hardship, expressed confidence that his position would eventually be vindicated.
“I have no apology supporting President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, and I will continue to support him till the last minute,” he said during an interview on Trust TV’s Daily Politics programme on Tuesday.
Asked if he was prepared to take a political bullet for the president, the governor maintained that he would stand by his decision.
“I can tell you today, tomorrow, and next tomorrow, that I will be vindicated,” he said.
The governor traced his relationship with Tinubu to 1994, when both men were involved in the struggle for the restoration of democratic rule in Nigeria. He recalled Tinubu’s association with the National Democratic Coalition (NADECO) and his support for pro-democracy activists during the military era, when some campaigners were forced into exile.
Sani said their shared political history and commitment to democracy, including the devolution of power, had influenced his assessment of Tinubu’s leadership.
Beyond their political ties, he pointed to federal projects and institutional developments in Kaduna State as reasons for his continued backing of the president.
Among these, he listed the Federal University of Applied Sciences in Southern Kaduna, the Federal University of Education in Zaria, the Federal University of Petroleum Resources in Rigachikun and a proposed conversion of Kaduna Polytechnic into a federal university of technology.
He also cited the planned reconstruction of the Kaduna-Birnin Gwari road and the appointment of Kaduna indigenes to senior positions in the federal government.
The governor, however, rejected the suggestion that the benefits he listed amounted to personal favours from Tinubu, insisting that they were intended for the state and its people.
“The favour he has done is not to me, because he has not given me. It’s to the state,” he said.
Sani’s defence of Tinubu comes against the backdrop of economic hardship and growing political manoeuvring ahead of the 2027 general elections, with the president’s record expected to remain a major issue in the contest.
On the possibility of northern voters rejecting Tinubu over the economic situation, the governor challenged opposition parties to offer Nigerians a credible alternative rather than rely solely on criticism of the president.
“When you say don’t vote for Asiwaju, you must bring an alternative,” he said.
While acknowledging the scale of poverty in northern Nigeria, Sani argued that the region’s problems predated Tinubu’s presidency and had accumulated over several years because of failures to address them.
He likened the situation to a neglected building that had deteriorated to the point where repairs had become difficult, arguing that earlier intervention could have prevented the present challenges.
“If we had addressed this problem even before Asiwaju ever thought of becoming president, we wouldn’t be where we are,” he said.
The governor also turned his criticism towards northern political leaders, saying the region needed to examine its own record rather than attribute all its problems to the current administration.
“The northerners are their own problem. We shouldn’t run away. The only way to help, I think, is for us to sit down and look at ourselves in the mirror, and accept that we are the problem,” he said.
On security, Sani acknowledged continuing concerns in Kaduna State, particularly attacks in Millennium City. He said he had held discussions with military and other security officials, adding that plans were being made to strengthen security deployment in the area.
