Kano State Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf has received 50 campaign vehicles donated by Niger Delta figure Government Oweizide Ekpemupolo, popularly known as Tompolo, to support grassroots mobilisation for President Bola Tinubu and the All Progressives Congress ahead of Nigeria’s 2027 general elections.
The vehicles were unveiled in Kano on Sunday, September 27, as part of activities of the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu Door-to-Door Movement, a political mobilisation organisation supporting Tinubu’s re-election campaign.
Multiple reports, including accounts from the News Agency of Nigeria, Arise News, Vanguard and The Nation, confirm the donation and unveiling.
Governor Yusuf said the vehicles would strengthen political mobilisation across Kano State and urged residents, particularly voters across northern Nigeria, to support Tinubu’s bid for another term.
Vehicles Target Kano’s 44 Local Government Areas
According to a statement attributed to Kano Government House spokesperson Sunusi Bature Dawakin Tofa, the vehicles are intended to facilitate political engagement and mobilisation across the state’s 44 local government areas.
Yusuf said transportation was important for grassroots campaigns because it would allow political organisers to reach communities across the state more effectively.
The donation is part of the PBAT Door-to-Door Movement’s wider campaign activities ahead of the January 2027 presidential election.
Arise News reported that the movement plans to develop grassroots coordinators and ambassadors, including at polling-unit level, to promote the Tinubu administration’s policies and mobilise electoral support.
Tompolo is chairman of Tantita Security Services and has emerged as a prominent supporter of Tinubu’s re-election campaign.
Yusuf Appeals to Northern Voters
Speaking while receiving the vehicles, Yusuf went beyond discussing campaign logistics and made a broader argument about the rotation of presidential power between northern and southern Nigeria.
The governor appealed to northern political stakeholders and voters to support Tinubu for a second term, arguing that the South should be allowed to hold the presidency for eight years following former President Muhammadu Buhari’s eight years in office.
Buhari, who was from Katsina State in northern Nigeria, served two presidential terms between 2015 and 2023 before Tinubu, from Lagos in southern Nigeria, took office.
Yusuf argued that Tinubu should be allowed to complete two terms before presidential power returns to the North in 2031.
The governor presented the position as part of what he described as an understanding surrounding power rotation between the country’s two broad regions.
However, North-South presidential rotation is not mandated by Nigeria’s Constitution. It has operated principally as a political convention through zoning arrangements and negotiations among parties and political stakeholders.
That distinction is important because eligible politicians are not constitutionally barred from contesting the presidency simply because another candidate comes from a particular region.
Tompolo Representative Promotes Continuity
Tompolo was represented at the Kano event, although reports differ on some details concerning who spoke for him.
Daily Nigerian, citing NAN, identified Kestin Pondi as his representative, while separate reporting from The Sun and New Telegraph said Delta State House of Assembly Speaker Emomotimi Dennis Guwor also spoke on Tompolo’s behalf during activities surrounding the campaign-vehicle distribution.
The representatives promoted continuity of Tinubu’s administration and argued that policies introduced by the government should be allowed to continue.
Claims made by the campaign organisation about Tinubu’s economic performance and public support should be understood as political campaign arguments rather than independent assessments of the administration.
The movement has said its objective is to communicate federal government policies and projects directly to Nigerians while building grassroots support ahead of the election.
Tompolo Group Expands Campaign Activities
The Kano event is not the first vehicle presentation associated with the PBAT Door-to-Door Movement.
Arise News reported that the organisation had earlier presented 34 campaign vehicles in Katsina and subsequently unveiled 44 vehicles alongside other campaign materials in Borno State.
The activities point to an expanding grassroots mobilisation operation as political organisations increase preparations ahead of the 2027 election.
In Kano, the latest 50 vehicles are expected to support campaign structures across one of Nigeria’s most politically significant states.
Governor Calls for Issue-Based Campaign
Despite openly supporting Tinubu’s re-election, Yusuf also called on political parties to conduct peaceful and issue-based campaigns.
He urged politicians to concentrate on their programmes, records and plans rather than personal attacks and warned against violence and criminality during political activities.
His remarks come as political campaigning intensifies ahead of the 2027 general elections.
The governor also thanked Tompolo for providing the vehicles, describing the donation as a demonstration of support for the APC and Tinubu’s administration.
Rotation Argument Likely to Remain Part of 2027 Debate
Beyond the vehicle donation itself, Yusuf’s comments highlight the continuing debate over regional rotation of Nigeria’s presidency.
Supporters of rotation argue that alternating presidential power between North and South can promote political inclusion and reduce concerns that one part of the country could dominate the presidency.
Others emphasise that zoning is a political arrangement rather than a constitutional requirement and that qualified candidates from any part of Nigeria have the right to seek the presidency.
The House of Representatives previously rejected a proposed constitutional amendment that would have formally introduced rotation of the presidency and vice presidency among Nigeria’s six geopolitical zones.
Yusuf’s appeal should therefore be understood as a political position supporting continued North-South rotation, rather than a description of a constitutional rule determining which region is entitled to contest the 2027 presidency.
For now, the immediate development in Kano is clear: 50 vehicles supplied by Tompolo have been unveiled to strengthen the PBAT Door-to-Door Movement and APC grassroots campaign structures across the state as political mobilisation gathers momentum ahead of the 2027 election.
