Lere 2027: Concerned Citizens Ask Gov Sani to Back a Unifier — and They Have a Name

The road to 2027 is already busy in Kaduna State. And from Lere Local Government Area, a group of citizens has decided not to wait and see. They have picked up a pen and gone straight to the Governor.

In an open letter addressed to His Excellency Uba Sani, Governor of Kaduna State, concerned citizens from Lere West are making a direct appeal. Back a candidate who can hold this diverse, politically sensitive community together and give the All Progressives Congress a real chance of winning.

The letter, titled “Lere 2027: A Call for Strategic, Inclusive, and People-Centred Leadership for Sustainable Unity and APC Success”, lays out both a warning and a recommendation. The warning is that Lere is not a constituency where any candidate will do. The recommendation is that one man already has what it takes.

That man is Tom Garba.

Lere LGA is one of the most ethnically and religiously layered local governments in Kaduna State. Its communities include the Kurama, Hausa, Fulani, Gure, Amo, Piti, Kahugu, Dingi, and Janji, among others. Each group carries its own history, its own sensitivities, and its own expectations from whoever represents them. Getting the balance right in a place like this is not a political talking point. It is a genuine governing challenge.

The citizens’ letter acknowledges this openly. It points to the APC’s historically uneven performance in Lere, attributing past difficulties not to lack of support for the party’s agenda but to candidates who failed to carry the full community with them. The argument is straightforward. The right person can change that equation entirely.

“Tom Garba stands out as the candidate who can add real value to the APC’s electoral success, without leaving room for strong opposition competition,” the letter states.

It is a confident claim. But the signatories spend considerable time grounding it in something more than enthusiasm.

Garba’s profile in Lere is built less on political office and more on what his Tom Garba Foundation has done across all eleven wards of the local government. Scholarships for students. Humanitarian support for vulnerable families. Community projects that have crossed ethnic and religious lines without fanfare or favouritism. The citizens’ letter notes this specifically. His impact has not been limited to Lere West, where he comes from. It has spread outward, deliberately and visibly.

On the question of religion, always a delicate one in northern Nigerian politics, the letter describes Garba as a man who has been consistent in his position. He has publicly stated that no religion holds superiority over another in political participation and that whatever serves one group must serve all. In Lere’s multi-faith landscape, that is not a small thing to say. It is even less small to believe when you say it.

The citizens also point to his grassroots standing. In a political environment where many candidates only become known to constituents during campaign season, Garba is already a recognised figure. Not through billboards or radio jingles, but through the kind of slow-built reputation that comes from showing up consistently before anyone asks for a vote.

Governor Uba Sani, whose administration in Kaduna has placed a clear emphasis on inclusive governance and equitable development, is urged in the letter to take this community-driven recommendation seriously. The citizens are not demanding. They are appealing, and they say this is their second letter on the matter, a signal that their position has not shifted with the political wind.

The letter lands at a moment when grassroots conversations about 2027 are gathering pace across Kaduna State. Online, Garba’s supporters have been active, describing him as a “humanitarian hero” and a “rising star” whose record through the Tom Garba Foundation speaks louder than campaign promises. Whether that momentum translates into a formal expression of interest remains to be seen.

What is clear is that the people of Lere West are not leaving this decision entirely to the party structure. They are inserting their voice early, deliberately, and on the record.

For the APC, the message from Lere is practical as much as it is political. In a constituency this complex, unity is not a bonus. It is the strategy. And if there is a candidate already living that principle, the party would do well to pay attention.

The 2027 general elections are still some distance away. But in Lere, the conversation has already started, and these citizens have made sure it starts with the right questions.