By Abdullahi Alhassan
The re-election campaign of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Katsina State Governor, Dikko Umaru Radda, has received a fresh boost as the President’s Special Adviser on Political and Other Matters, Alhaji Ibrahim Kabir Masari, and the Minister of Housing and Urban Development, Engr. Muttaqa Rabe-Darma, intensify grassroots mobilisation across the state.
The duo have stepped up political engagements, reaching out to Islamic clerics, women, youths, persons with disabilities and various support groups in a coordinated effort to strengthen the All Progressives Congress (APC) ahead of the 2027 general elections.
The mobilisation drive, which combines political consultations with humanitarian interventions and economic empowerment programmes, is aimed at consolidating the party’s support base and securing another electoral mandate for Tinubu and Radda.
### 1,117 Islamic Clerics Declare Support For Tinubu
A major highlight of the mobilisation campaign was a stakeholders’ meeting convened in Katsina on October 26, 2026, where no fewer than 1,117 Islamic clerics drawn from the Izala and Tijjaniyya (Darika) movements reportedly pledged their support for President Tinubu’s second-term ambition.
The meeting, organised by Masari, attracted prominent Islamic scholars, Imams, male and female preachers, religious teachers and representatives of the Council of Ulama.
Addressing the gathering, Masari conveyed the President’s appreciation to the religious leaders for their support, assuring them that the Tinubu administration would not take the confidence of Katsina residents for granted.
He maintained that another term for the President would further advance the interests of Northern Nigeria and the Muslim community.
In his remarks, Rabe-Darma called on the clerics to deploy their influence and established community networks towards educating their followers on government policies and mobilising support for the APC at all levels.
He particularly encouraged them to use Friday sermons and other religious gatherings to communicate the administration’s programmes and political objectives.
### Scholarship Expansion, Economic Empowerment Take Centre Stage
Beyond political engagements, Masari and Rabe-Darma have also incorporated educational and economic empowerment initiatives into their grassroots outreach strategy.
Through the Ibrahim Kabir Masari Foundation, Masari announced plans to expand its scholarship programme, increasing the number of beneficiaries from 133 to at least 500 Katsina students in 2027.
The proposed scholarship allocation adopts a 40-30-30 formula in honour of late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, President Tinubu’s late mother, Dr. Abibatu Mogaji, and Masari’s mother.
The initiative was unveiled at Umaru Musa Yar’Adua University (UMYU), Katsina, where Rabe-Darma disclosed that the intervention was inspired by the experience of a female medical student who lost her father.
Similarly, the Ibrahim Masari Foundation recently inaugurated its new office in Katsina, using the occasion to distribute bags of maize and N10,000 cash assistance to 500 women.
Governor Radda reportedly complemented the intervention with an additional N3.5 million, effectively doubling the cash support available to the beneficiaries.
According to the Foundation, it has sustained humanitarian interventions over the past two years, focusing on food distribution, medical assistance and educational support for orphans, widows and persons with special needs.
In another empowerment exercise in Malumfashi, Masari provided 1,000 beneficiaries with N300,000 each as start-up capital to promote entrepreneurship, self-reliance and economic recovery.
Governor Radda described the initiative as consistent with his administration’s commitment to youth empowerment and economic development.
### Rabe-Darma Mobilises APC Support Groups
On his part, Rabe-Darma has continued to strengthen the party’s political structures through the establishment and inauguration of organised support groups.
A major step in this direction was the inauguration of Grassroots Mobilization for Tinubu and Dikko (GMTD) in Katsina, a political platform established to galvanise support for the President and the governor ahead of the 2027 elections.
The event attracted political stakeholders, youth leaders, women organisations and APC supporters from different parts of the state.
Rabe-Darma explained that GMTD was conceived to deepen grassroots participation, strengthen public confidence in the party’s leadership and expand its political reach across communities.
He also disclosed that arrangements were underway for the formal opening of the group’s state office.
### Persons With Disabilities Endorse Tinubu, Radda
The minister’s engagement has also extended to persons with disabilities, who recently declared their support for Tinubu and Radda following a meeting with him.
The group, led by Sarkin Makafin Katsina, Alhaji Garba Muhammad-Nahuta, attributed its endorsement partly to Rabe-Darma’s interventions and support for physically challenged persons.
The association further disclosed that its members had obtained their Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) and expressed readiness to translate their political support into votes for the APC candidates in 2027.
The development adds to a growing list of organised political endorsements and mobilisation activities across the state.
### Women’s Defections, Youth Coalitions Strengthen APC Mobilisation
The ongoing political drive has equally received support from other organised platforms, including the Matan Ta Dikko Mobilization and Awareness Forum, which recently recorded the defection of more than 2,700 women from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and African Democratic Congress (ADC).
In Funtua, coalitions of youth and women’s associations have also pledged to mobilise substantial support for the Tinubu-Radda political project.
These engagements are part of a broader strategy to bring different demographic and interest groups into the APC’s mobilisation network ahead of the next general elections.
Political observers believe the combination of religious endorsements, humanitarian interventions, educational support, economic empowerment and structured grassroots political organisations could strengthen the APC’s electoral prospects in Katsina State.
While Masari provides a strategic link to the Presidency, Rabe-Darma is leveraging his ministerial position and political networks to consolidate support structures at the state and community levels.
With the 2027 elections approaching, the sustained engagements signal an increasingly coordinated effort by the two APC figures to build a formidable grassroots coalition for the re-election of Tinubu and Radda.
