The All Progressives Congress in Adamawa State has formally flagged off its campaign in Yola, promising to deliver the state overwhelmingly to President Bola Tinubu in the 2027 election and waving away claims that former Vice President Atiku Abubakar still commands decisive influence at home.

The rally, held on Thursday at Ribadu Square, drew party leaders, candidates, supporters and other stakeholders. Governor Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri, who leads the party in the state and chairs its campaign council, urged residents to back Tinubu, arguing that the president has done enough for Nigeria and for Adamawa in particular to earn a second term.

He said the administration has tackled insecurity to a great extent and introduced policies with a direct impact on citizens and the economy, adding that Nigerians would be better off if Tinubu is re-elected. Fintiri also announced plans to provide free transportation for youths and women in the state.

State APC chairman Hamza Bello Madagali used the occasion to warn party officials against complacency. He threatened to sack executives from the unit level to the ward level who fail to deliver Tinubu, the governorship candidate, Tijjani Galadima, and other APC candidates in their areas.

Any unit or ward that falls short, he said, would be shown the way out of the party. Party speakers at the event also played down Atiku’s standing in the state, pointing to what they described as the weak recognition of the African Democratic Congress, the platform on which he is running.

Galadima, the APC governorship candidate, pledged to sustain and build on Fintiri’s projects while bringing fresh ideas to the state’s development. He also endorsed Tinubu’s re-election bid and praised the president’s economic reform agenda.

The pledge carries political weight because Adamawa is Atiku’s home state. He won it in 2023 as the Peoples Democratic Party candidate, even as Tinubu took the presidency, and he is now the ADC’s presidential candidate. The APC has been pressing the point in recent weeks.

Deputy National Chairman Ali Bukar Dalori predicted late last month that Atiku would lose even his own polling unit, and Vice President Kashim Shettima argued at a rally in Ekiti that former Adamawa governors are not standing with him. Atiku’s camp has not backed down, and the ADC is counting on his long-standing base in the state.