Katsina State Governor Dikko Radda has pledged his state’s support for President Bola Tinubu’s re-election bid, as a political group backed by Niger Delta businessman Government Ekpemupolo, popularly known as Tompolo, launched its northern mobilisation drive in the state.
The PBAT Door-to-Door Movement inaugurated its Katsina structure on Saturday at People’s Square in the state capital, presenting campaign vehicles to coordinators across all 34 local government areas.
Katsina holds particular significance for Tinubu ahead of 2027. Though governed by the All Progressives Congress and the home state of the late former President Muhammadu Buhari, it was one of the states Tinubu lost in 2023 — Atiku Abubakar of the PDP edged him out with 489,045 votes to 482,283, a margin of 6,762 votes, even though Tinubu carried 21 of the state’s 34 local government areas.
Addressing the gathering, Radda assured the president of the state’s continued backing, describing Katsina as a solid APC stronghold and crediting the administration’s economic reforms with boosting resources available to state and local governments — funds he said could go toward improving roads, education, healthcare, water supply, sanitation and markets.
He also insisted every elected official in the state belongs to the APC. That claim, however, doesn’t hold up entirely: Shehu Tafoki, who represents Kankara/Faskari/Sabuwa Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives, defected to the PDP in May after losing the APC ticket for 2027 — a move later confirmed on the floor of the House.
The PBAT Door-to-Door Movement was founded by Ekpemupolo to drum up support for Tinubu’s re-election. It unveiled its national leadership in Abuja in July, with senior APC figures including Senate President Godswill Akpabio and House Speaker Tajudeen Abbas in attendance.
At the Katsina event, Kestin Pondi, representing Ekpemupolo, urged members to take the campaign to wards, communities, markets and households, describing the relationship between Tinubu and Katsina as built on trust and political cooperation. Katsina APC chairman Bishir Saulawa asked the group to coordinate with the party’s local structures.
Tukur Ahmed Jikamshi, a former deputy governor and Renewed Hope coordinator in the state, said the APC remained united across Katsina’s 361 wards and 34 local government areas. State PBAT coordinator Faisal Kaita confirmed coordinators have now been appointed in all 34 local government areas, where the campaign vehicles were distributed.
Ekpemupolo is also linked to Tantita Security Services Nigeria Limited, a private firm contracted by the federal government for oil pipeline surveillance in the Niger Delta.
PREMIUM TIMES has asked the Katsina State Government to clarify how many vehicles were deployed, who funded them, and their total cost. No response had been received at the time of filing.
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