Former Zamfara State Governor and Director-General of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s 2027 re-election campaign council, Senator Abdul’aziz Yari Abubakar, has said he returned to his home state to mobilise critical stakeholders for the success of the President’s re-election bid.
Yari stated this while speaking during his consultation and mobilisation visit to Zamfara State, where he met party leaders and other stakeholders.
He said although his responsibility as Director-General required him to travel across the country to market the achievements and vision of President Tinubu, he considered it necessary to return home and rally the people of Zamfara.
‘After the council, I found it necessary to come back home. It is my responsibility to work in every corner of Nigeria to market Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, to showcase what he has done in the past three years and his vision for a better Nigeria, and why he should be elected as president,’ he said.
‘But this is my homeland. So, wherever we are going, it must start from home. We are one of the three leading states, by God’s grace, and therefore we need to come together and rub shoulders with every other state that is going to lead us.’
According to him, the meeting was aimed at engaging critical stakeholders, including ward and local government working committees, state-level party officials and other identified stakeholders.
Yari said the responsibility of ensuring victory for Tinubu in 2027 was not his alone, but that of all party members and stakeholders.
He said his appointment as Director-General was an opportunity entrusted to him by God, stressing that there were thousands of people who could have occupied the position.
‘Allah chose me to be here as Director-General. Therefore, their support should be vast. We are here to tell them what we are expecting from them and what we are hoping to achieve as a party,’ he said.
Yari expressed confidence that Zamfara would deliver massive support for President Tinubu in the 2027 presidential election.
‘I have mentioned a number, but by God’s grace, our work will not be less than one of the three. We will give massive support to Bola Ahmed Tinubu. Insha Allah, we are going to win the election,’ he said.
He explained that the campaign would involve different forms of consultations, including meetings with stakeholders, open engagements and mass mobilisation.
‘We are not going into the election contemplating whether we will win. No. We are going to win and win convincingly,’ he added.
Yari said the campaign would focus on the achievements of the Tinubu administration and the challenges it inherited, rather than attacking individuals.
‘Our campaign is not about mentioning anybody. We will talk about what we have done for Nigeria, where we met Nigeria economically and security-wise, and what we have achieved so far,’ he said.
He acknowledged that some of the economic reforms introduced by the administration had caused hardship, but argued that some reforms were necessary to reposition the economy.
‘Some of the economic policies must be implemented through painful processes for the economy. Therefore, we are working tirelessly for Nigeria. Asiwaju is working tirelessly, thinking about how Nigeria is going to look like, including the social issues,’ he said.
On taxation, Yari said the administration’s proposed tax reforms were designed to ensure that taxation was based on people’s earnings and that the burden would not fall disproportionately on the masses.
‘We said taxation will be based on earnings. We are not going to tax the masses in a way that will make them suffer under the new tax regime. Those who are not paying will pay, while those who earn more will pay according to their earnings,’ he said.
He argued that, if properly implemented, tax revenue could provide sufficient resources to sustain the Nigerian economy and fund development.
Yari also highlighted the increase in revenue available to states compared with the situation during his tenure as Zamfara governor, attributing the development partly to reforms introduced by the Tinubu administration.
On insecurity, he said the Federal Government was spending unprecedented resources to combat terrorism and banditry.
He disclosed that President Tinubu recently showed him documentation relating to the procurement of ammunition and other security equipment worth more than $7 million.
According to him, such expenditure, although necessary to address insecurity, would otherwise have been available for infrastructure and economic development.
‘We are now putting those resources into security. That is the point. Let it be known that about this amount is being spent to control the issue of insecurity,’ he said.
Yari said the government was working with the country’s security personnel to defeat insecurity and free resources for infrastructure and economic development.
‘By God’s grace, we are going to succeed, Insha Allah. Bola Ahmed Tinubu will succeed in fighting this insecurity and banditry,’ he said.
He added that the campaign would focus on issues affecting Nigeria rather than personalities.
‘No individual is before us today. Nigeria is before us as Nigerians. That is the basis of our campaign and how we want the country to look like,’ Yari said.