By Jude Opara, Abuja
The Katsina state government has taken a swipe at those it accused of deliberately twisting a recent statement by Governor Dikko Umar Radda to suggest that he was criticizing the administration of President Bola Tinubu.
In a statement on Sunday, Ibrahim Kaula Mohammed, the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor of Katsina state said the bond of relationship between President Tinubu and Governor Radda was so strong that those he described as mischief makers cannot break.
Mohammed specifically accused some media outlets in the South of being behind the misrepresentation of what the governor said, adding that his principal was referring to state and local government administrators and not President Tinubu.
“For clarity, the Governor Radda’s statement was directed at state and local government leaders. It was not about the President. The Governor was calling on Katsina citizens to hold their state officials accountable through their votes”.
It could be recalled that the governor had said that; “Politics is an open game, not done in the dark. Anyone that leads the people well, let the people vote him again, and anyone that does not, the people should vote against him”, before it was interpreted that he was referring to the President.
The Katsina state government further argued that it is very clear that Governor Radda has already mobilized the state to stand with Tinubu in the forthcoming 2027 presidential election.
“Without ambiguity, it is important to note that Governor Malam Dikko Umaru Radda is a strong pillar of support for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. This is not news. This is history. Recall, on 2nd February 2026, he organized a historic gathering in Katsina State. He brought together the nation’s political heavyweights to endorse President Tinubu’s reelection. Deputy Senate President Barau Jibrin was there. APC National Chairman Prof. Nantawe Yilwatda was there. Ministers were there. Former governors were there. This was not a small gathering. This was a statement. A clear statement that Katsina State stands with President Tinubu.
“That the President even knows the worth of Radda gives naysayers migraine. When he visited Katsina state last year, he did not just pass through. He spent the night. He commissioned the Governor’s legacy projects personally. He walked alongside Governor Radda, celebrating what he has built”.
