By Our Reporter
President Bola Tinubu has reaffirmed his administration’s determination to tackle insecurity, promising improved salaries and welfare for members of the armed forces and police as part of efforts to strengthen the country’s security architecture.
Tinubu gave the assurance on Tuesday at a rally organised by the All Progressives Congress (APC) at Dutse Township Stadium, Jigawa State, where he addressed party supporters and residents.
The President said his administration was strengthening security agencies to protect lives and property, adding that personnel would receive better welfare irrespective of their backgrounds.
“We will conquer insecurity. We’ve been through many wars. We will defeat our enemies. Enemies of unity, enemies of stability, enemies of hope,” he said.
Tinubu also presented the APC campaign manifesto, titled *From Reforms to Prosperity*, which outlines the party’s agenda and the administration’s achievements and plans in infrastructure, healthcare, agriculture and security.
He described the manifesto as a blueprint for consolidating economic reforms, expanding opportunities and delivering shared prosperity, while pledging to complete ongoing programmes and projects across the country.
Defending the removal of the fuel subsidy, the President faulted opposition calls for its restoration, arguing that the savings had made it possible for the Federal Government to undertake development projects across the country.
He challenged those advocating a return to the subsidy regime to explain how they would finance infrastructure and other public commitments.
On agriculture, Tinubu promised additional support for small-scale farmers through financing, mechanisation and irrigation, disclosing that interest-free loans would be introduced to boost food production.
“We will reward small-scale farmers. Interest-free loans for farmers are coming. Prosperity is coming. Food security will happen,” he said.
The President thanked the people of Jigawa for their support and urged them to vote for APC candidates at all levels in the 2027 general elections.
Before the rally, Tinubu commissioned the Bola Ahmed Tinubu Multi-Purpose Skills Acquisition Centre and the Renewed Hope Technical Services Centre. He also virtually commissioned the three-kilometre dualised Old Police Station–Palace Road in Dutse.
The President further commissioned 400 tractors and other agricultural equipment procured by the Jigawa State Government to promote mechanised farming and improve food security.
In his address, Governor Umar Namadi commended the Tinubu administration for its development initiatives in Jigawa and other parts of Northern Nigeria.
He listed the Greater Hadejia Water Project, which he said was 60 per cent complete, the Katsina–Maradi rail line and federal interventions in education, agriculture and social welfare among the projects and programmes benefiting the region.
Namadi also thanked the President for approving the establishment of Federal Colleges of Education in Dutse and Hadejia, as well as the creation of the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND), which he said had benefited thousands of students from the state.
He further acknowledged the impact of the Conditional Cash Transfer programme on indigent households and praised Tinubu for approving interventions to address water shortages in Dutse, following a promise made to the late Emir of Dutse, Dr Nuhu Muhammad Sunusi, during the 2023 campaign.
The governor, however, appealed for federal intervention in the ecological challenges confronting Dutse and Hadejia, saying the problems had become difficult for the state government to address alone.
Also speaking, Vice-President Kashim Shettima urged Jigawa residents to sustain their support for Tinubu, recalling the President’s political support for several northern leaders over the years.
Shettima called on voters to reciprocate the support by backing the APC in the 2027 elections.
The Director-General of the APC Presidential Campaign Council, Senator Abdulaziz Yari, also praised Tinubu’s leadership and called on the opposition to present alternative socioeconomic policies rather than engage in divisive politics.
Sokoto State Governor Ahmed Aliyu, speaking on behalf of the Progressive Governors Forum, highlighted Tinubu’s past political relationships with northern leaders and urged Nigerians to support his administration.
The Deputy Director-General of the APC Presidential Campaign Council and Yobe State Governor, Mai Mala Buni, alongside the President’s Special Adviser on Political Affairs, Ibrahim Masari, also called on party supporters to back APC candidates in the forthcoming elections.
Other dignitaries at the rally included Deputy Senate President Barau Jibrin, Speaker of the House of Representatives Tajudeen Abbas, APC governors, ministers and other political leaders.
