Borno State Governor, Babagana Umara Zulum, has said the state needs the All Progressives Congress (APC) to remain in power at the federal level to sustain government interventions and attract further support for the state’s development.
Zulum stated this on Sunday in Maiduguri while addressing thousands of APC supporters at the Government House following his return from an overseas trip.
The governor arrived at the Muhammadu Buhari International Airport, Maiduguri, where he was received by his deputy, Usman Kadafur, and other senior government officials, including the APC National Chairman, Nentawe Yilwatda, who was in the state for the party’s National Working Committee retreat.
Despite the rain, Mr Zulum proceeded to address party supporters, using the occasion to call for unity within the APC ahead of the 2027 general elections.
He urged party members, particularly those who lost the APC’s recent primary elections, to accept the outcomes and work together for the success of the party.
Gov. Zulum said Muslims should accept the outcome of political contests as part of Allah’s will.
‘It was Allah who selected Mustapha Gubio as the APC governorship candidate. As Muslims, we believe in destiny,’ he said.
Engr. Mustapha Gubio is the APC candidate for the 2027 Borno governorship election.
The governor also urged Borno residents to support President Bola Tinubu and Vice President Kashim Shettima in the 2027 presidential election.
He said VP Shettima, a former governor of Borno, is ‘a son of the soil’ and appealed to residents not to abandon him.
Speaking on Borno connecting at the center, Gov. Zulum said continued cooperation between the state and federal governments was important to the recovery of Borno after years of insurgency.
‘Without peace, there is no development,’ he said, adding that federal support had contributed to infrastructure rehabilitation and the resettlement of displaced persons.
The governor said maintaining political alignment with the federal government would help the state secure attention when federal intervention was required.
‘Borno needs APC at the centre to attract federal intervention when our people require it,’ he said.
He also attributed the relative improvement in security in Borno to the efforts of both the state and federal governments, as well as the resilience of residents.
‘In the first four years of our administration, we worked hard to ensure the security of the lives of our people, and with the help of Almighty Allah, relative peace was attained,’ Mr Zulum said.
He appealed to APC members to support all the party’s candidates, from the presidency to the National and State Assemblies.
On party unity, he said the APC was not afraid of opposition parties ahead of the 2027 elections but stressed the importance of internal cohesion.
He called on party stalwarts and supporters to put the outcome of the primaries behind them and work together for the success of the APC.
‘We apologise for any mistakes we made in the course of carrying out our responsibilities as a government,’ he said.
The governor also reaffirmed his administration’s commitment to youth and women’s empowerment before the end of his tenure in 2027.
He announced that the APC would soon resume its political mobilisation tour across the state’s 27 local government areas.
Zulum noted that the objective was to strengthen the party at the grassroots and mobilise support for its candidates ahead of the 2027 elections.