Director-General of the All Progressives Congress Presidential Campaign Council, Abdulaziz Yari, says the North has no excuse not to support President Bola Tinubu’s bid for a second term in office ahead of the 2027 presidential election.
Yari stated this when he led members of the PCC to the palace of the Oba of Lagos, Rilwan Akiolu, as part of the council’s engagements ahead of the 2027 elections.
The former Zamfara governor said the North should reciprocate the support Tinubu gave former President Muhammadu Buhari during his presidential bid and subsequent re-election.
According to Yari, Tinubu had resisted pressure to contest the 2019 presidential election against Buhari, arguing that it was the turn of the North to produce the president.
He said, “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.
“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 currently represents Zamfara West in the Senate, said the support Tinubu offered Buhari provided a basis for northerners to reciprocate by backing the incumbent President in 2027.
He said the region should support Tinubu’s re-election bid based on what he described as the President’s performance and his administration’s efforts to address challenges inherited from previous governments.
He added, “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.
“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 said Tinubu had undertaken significant restructuring of the country despite inheriting what he described as a challenging situation from previous administrations.
The APC campaign council director-general said its push for Tinubu’s re-election was not based solely on the principle of power rotation.
He said the council was backing the president because it believed Nigerians wanted him to remain in office and continue with his administration’s policies.
