By Daniel Oluwatobiloba Popoola
The Director-General of the All Progressives Congress Presidential Campaign Council (APC PCC), Senator Abdulaziz Yari, has urged northern political leaders to support President Bola Tinubu’s re-election in 2027, saying Tinubu backed former President Muhammadu Buhari when power was in the North.
Yari made the call on Monday, 14 September, 2026 when he led members of the PCC to the palace of the Oba of Lagos, Oba Rilwan Akiolu, in Lagos, as part of the council’s engagement with traditional rulers ahead of the 2027 elections.
The former Zamfara governor recalled that Tinubu resisted pressure to contest the 2019 presidential election, insisting that Buhari should be allowed to complete his second term.
Yari said Tinubu’s decision created an obligation for northern political stakeholders to reciprocate by supporting his bid for a second term.
“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,” he said.
He recalled that some APC members had attempted to persuade Tinubu to contest the presidency in 2019, but he rejected the move and backed Buhari’s re-election.
“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 said.
The Senator representing Zamfara West said the North had no excuse not to support Tinubu’s re-election, urging its political leaders to back the administration.
“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 assured the President of continued support from the North, saying political leaders who believed in justice and fairness would work to sustain his administration.
“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.
He also defended the Tinubu administration, saying the President had restructured the country after inheriting what he described as a challenging situation from previous administrations.
Yari said the PCC was seeking Tinubu’s re-election not merely on the basis of power rotation, but because it believed Nigerians wanted him to continue in office.
Earlier, Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu received the PCC delegation before accompanying its members to the Oba’s palace.
Sanwo-Olu said the council’s decision to engage traditional rulers underscored the importance of traditional institutions in promoting peace, unity and national development.
