Why Atiku defeated Tinubu in Kaduna in 2023-APC
The Kaduna State Publicity Secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Mohammed Sani Haruna, has attributed the opposition’s performance in the 2023 general election in the state to dissatisfaction with the…
Kaduna, a key northwest swing state, was among the states Bola Tinubu failed to carry in the 2023 presidential election, with Atiku Abubakar of the PDP winning there despite APC's national victory. The result was notable because it came under the watch of then-governor Nasir El-Rufai, a prominent APC figure and Tinubu ally, raising questions within the party about local grievances undercutting its presidential campaign in a state it was expected to dominate.
The APC's Kaduna chapter, now led under Governor Uba Sani, is revisiting that loss publicly as the party gears up for the 2027 election cycle. Party spokesman Mohammed Sani Haruna's remarks, pointing to dissatisfaction with El-Rufai-era policies as the cause of the 2023 defeat, double as an attempt to reassure the party base ahead of a planned campaign launch and a pledge to deliver a large vote tally for Tinubu. The explanation has not been independently verified against other factors analysts have cited for the 2023 outcome, such as voter turnout patterns, local political rivalries, and the broader PDP-APC contest in northern Nigeria.