2027: North has no reason to reject Tinubu — Yari

The Director-General of the All Progressives Congress Presidential Campaign Council, Abdulaziz Yari, has urged voters in northern Nigeria to back President Bola Tinubu for a second term in the 2027 presidential election.

Yari made the call in Lagos on Tuesday when he led members of the campaign council to the palace of the Oba of Lagos, Rilwan Akiolu, as part of the council’s consultations ahead of the election.

The senator representing Zamfara West said the North should reciprocate the support he said Tinubu gave former President Muhammadu Buhari during the 2019 presidential election.

Yari recalled that Tinubu declined to challenge Buhari for the APC presidential ticket in 2019 despite pressure from some members of the party, arguing that power should remain in the North.

“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.

He said Tinubu had maintained that he would support Buhari as long as the former president sought re-election.

“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 added.

The former Zamfara governor said the gesture should inform the North’s position ahead of the 2027 poll.

He also based his appeal on what he described as the Tinubu administration’s performance since taking office, arguing that the president deserved an opportunity to consolidate his policies.

“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.

Yari said the campaign council remained confident of securing support for Tinubu across the region.

“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,” he said.

The APC campaign council chief also defended the administration’s record, saying Tinubu had embarked on major reforms and restructuring despite inheriting what he described as difficult economic and governance conditions.

Yari stressed that the campaign for Tinubu’s re-election was not being driven solely by the argument of power rotation between the North and South.

According to him, the council’s position is also based on its belief that Nigerians would prefer Tinubu to remain in office to continue implementing his policies.

The Lagos engagement formed part of the campaign council’s wider consultations with traditional and political stakeholders ahead of the 2027 presidential election.