A prominent Kaduna based Islamic cleric Sheikh Sunusi Khalil has issued a strong warning to people planning to campaign for President Bola Tinubu in northern Nigeria ahead of the 2027 elections. He told them that if they come to campaign here they will quickly see the real mood on the ground. He added that even if Tinubu is their own father the anger of ordinary people over current hardship will still speak loudly against them.
The cleric made the remarks in a recent recorded sermon that has spread on social media. His words come as the ruling All Progressives Congress has begun formal preparations for Tinubu’s re election bid. The party recently inaugurated an expanded Presidential Campaign Council in Abuja with leaders pledging to take the campaign constituency by constituency and ward by ward across the country.
Sheikh Sunusi Khalil has spoken out several times against the current administration’s approach in the north. Earlier this year he claimed that large sums of money had been set aside to mobilise Islamic scholars and traditional rulers to support Tinubu’s second term. He said he was approached to join such an effort but rejected it. He has also questioned why campaigners ignore Tinubu’s own past statement that Nigerians should not vote for him if electricity problems remained unfixed. In other sermons he has criticised the handling of insecurity and the treatment of former Kaduna governor Nasir El Rufai.
Residents in parts of the north continue to face high living costs and other difficulties following economic reforms introduced after Tinubu took office in 2023. Support groups for the president are already launching grassroots efforts in some states while opposing voices have also begun organising under slogans calling for change. The cleric’s latest statement highlights the challenge campaign teams may face when they try to sell the administration’s record in areas where many feel the pain of hardship most directly.
