The Director-General of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential Campaign Council (PCC), Abdulaziz Yari, says the north has no reason to reject President Bola Tinubu’s bid for a second term in the 2027 presidential election.
Yari spoke in Lagos while leading PCC members to the palace of the Oba of Lagos, Rilwan Akiolu, as part of the council’s engagements ahead of the election.
The former Zamfara governor said northerners should return the favour Tinubu showed former President Muhammadu Buhari during his presidential campaigns and re-election.
Yari recalled that Tinubu resisted pressure to challenge Buhari in 2019, saying it was the north’s turn to produce the president.
“For us in the north, I think it is time for us to pay Tinubu back for allowing the north to complete its full term,” Yari said.
“I remember there was a struggle by some power-mongering bloc within the APC that tried to convince Tinubu to contest the presidential election in 2019. He resisted the pressure and said it was the turn of the north.
“Tinubu said as long as Buhari can come out and ask people to vote for him, he would be with Buhari till the end. And that was what Tinubu truly did.”
Yari, who represents Zamfara West in the Senate, said Tinubu’s support for Buhari gives northerners a reason to back him in 2027.
“Today, I don’t think there is an excuse for us from the northern region not to support Tinubu to continue the good job he started and complete his tenure,” he said.
“The message from northern Nigeria, where I came from, is that there is nothing to worry about. There are still people of high calibre and character who believe in justice and fairness. We are going to do our best to ensure that Tinubu’s journey continues to the end. He can count on us.”
Yari also praised Tinubu’s restructuring efforts, saying the president inherited a difficult situation. He added that the campaign is not based only on power rotation but on the belief that Nigerians want Tinubu to continue his policies.
