2027: North will give Tinubu 100 percent support – Yari

The Director-General of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential Campaign Council, Abdulaziz Yari, has assured President Bola Tinubu of overwhelming support from northern Nigeria in the 2027 general election.

Speaking on Saturday at the APC presidential campaign flag-off in Kaduna, Yari said the campaign council was committed to mobilising support across the North through engagements with traditional rulers, Islamic scholars, imams and other influential stakeholders.

“Northern Nigeria is 100% yours, insha Allah. This is the promise that we make, and you are going to see it in January 2027,” Yari said.

The former Zamfara State governor said the campaign would focus on the administration’s performance in infrastructure, healthcare, education, human capital development and social welfare.

According to him, the APC intends to use its campaign to communicate the government’s policies and achievements to Nigerians, particularly in the northern region.

Yari said engagements with traditional and religious leaders were part of efforts to explain the administration’s programmes and encourage support for Tinubu’s re-election bid.

He also defended the government’s relationship with farmers, dismissing allegations that the administration had neglected the agricultural sector.

The APC chieftain claimed that about two million farmers had committed to supporting Tinubu in the 2027 election.

“They are lying that the government of Asiwaju Bola Tinubu does not like farmers, that you hate farmers. That is not true,” he said.

Yari argued that such claims did not reflect the administration’s position on agriculture, insisting that the government was committed to addressing the concerns of farmers.

He also accused critics of deploying artificial intelligence (AI) to circulate false information about the Tinubu administration, urging the campaign to counter such claims by presenting what he described as the government’s achievements.

The former governor further cited developments in the foreign exchange market, Nigeria’s foreign reserves and the country’s trade balance as indicators of economic progress under Tinubu.

On the exchange rate, Yari said the naira had improved from a level approaching N1,800 to about N1,300 against the dollar.

He also claimed that Nigeria’s foreign reserves had increased from $3.9 billion to between $54 billion and $57.7 billion.

On trade, Yari said the country’s trade balance had risen from about N44 billion in 2023 to N7.5 trillion.

He presented the figures as evidence of progress under the current administration and said they would form part of the APC’s message to voters ahead of the next general election.

However, the figures cited by Yari were claims made during the campaign address and would require independent verification against official economic data.

Yari also pledged that the APC Presidential Campaign Council would work closely with governors across the country to mobilise voters and strengthen the party’s chances in the 2027 presidential election.

He described the governors as key figures in the party’s mobilisation efforts at the state level, adding that the campaign council would complement their activities.

“The governors, your commanders in the states, are doing a remarkable job. We are going to complement them, and by God’s grace, the victory is ours,” he said.

Yari expressed confidence that coordinated mobilisation and the presentation of the administration’s record would help the APC secure another electoral victory in 2027.