The Director-General of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential Campaign Council, Senator Abdulaziz Yari, declared that Northern Nigeria is united behind President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s re-election bid, assuring the President that the region would deliver overwhelming support in the January 16, 2027 presidential election.
Yari made the declaration on Saturday in Kaduna, where the APC formally launched its nationwide presidential campaign. He dismissed the opposition as politically inexperienced and incapable of defeating a ruling party backed by established political structures, experienced leaders, and a record of achievements.
Speaking before a large gathering of party supporters and political leaders, the former Zamfara State governor said consultations across the northern states produced a broad coalition of governors, traditional rulers, Islamic scholars, and other influential stakeholders determined to secure another four years for Tinubu.
He told the President that northern political leaders’ commitment was absolute and would become evident when Nigerians cast their ballots in January.
‘Mr. President, I want you to listen to us clearly. Northern Nigeria is 101 per cent, by God’s grace, for you, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Insha Allah’, he declared.
Yari said the APC was approaching the election with confidence because its campaign would be driven by the administration’s achievements rather than propaganda, empty promises, or attacks on political opponents.
He accused opposition parties of using artificial intelligence to circulate misleading information about Tinubu’s policies and performance, saying such tactics would fail against evidence of what the government had accomplished.
According to him, the opposition’s misinformation campaign had particularly targeted the agricultural sector, claiming the President was indifferent to, or hostile towards, the interests of Nigerian farmers.
He said the Presidential Campaign Council moved to counter the allegations through direct engagements with farmers, explaining the administration’s interventions, achievements, and plans to improve agricultural productivity.
Yari said approximately two million farmers had pledged to support Tinubu at the polls.
He said the farmers had accepted the explanations provided by the campaign organisation and committed to mobilising votes for the President.
The APC campaign chief insisted that direct engagement with citizens would remain central to the party’s strategy as political activities intensified across the federation.
Turning to the significance of the Kaduna rally, Yari said the decision to begin the presidential campaign in the state reflected its historical importance in Northern Nigerian politics.
He described Kaduna as the region’s political centre, saying the venue choice was deliberate, not accidental.
‘Today, we are in Kaduna not by mistake. We deliberately chose this place to be your first place of call on this important gathering, flagging off the campaign of APC for the 2027 presidential election’, he said.
He commended the APC governors for working together to ensure the event’s success, adding that several arrived in Kaduna a day or two before the rally to help with preparations.
Yari particularly praised the host governor, Senator Uba Sani, for the extensive arrangements made for the campaign flag-off.
He said the governors’ collective involvement demonstrated the party’s organisational strength and the leadership’s determination to secure victory in 2027.
The former governor also used the occasion to defend Tinubu’s economic management, arguing that the country’s economic indicators had improved significantly since the President inherited a difficult financial situation in May 2023.
He cited developments in the foreign exchange market, the nation’s external reserves and other economic indicators as signs that the administration’s reforms were delivering results.
Yari specifically claimed that the naira had strengthened from when the exchange rate approached N1,800 to the dollar to about N1,300, describing the improvement as an important achievement.
‘Mr. President, if I can remember at least a few, from the exchange rate, which was heading to 1,800, today the exchange rate is reading about 1,300, which is a remarkable achievement’, he said.
He expressed admiration for the President’s economic management, suggesting that the scale of changes recorded within three years was beyond what many people had considered possible.
According to him, the administration’s progress was not limited to macroeconomic indicators but extended to infrastructure, healthcare, education, human capital development and social welfare interventions.
He said the APC would take these achievements directly to the electorate, allowing Nigerians to assess the administration on the strength of completed projects, ongoing programmes and policies designed to improve living conditions.
‘As promised, Nigerians at the head of this campaign, we are going to campaign on our record. Our record is there. Infrastructure is there. What we did in health is there. Education is there. Human capital development is there,’ he stated.
Yari also identified government support for students, cash transfers, and other interventions benefiting women and vulnerable Nigerians as programmes the campaign would showcase.
He maintained that the party had sufficient accomplishments to present to Nigerians without resorting to the methods he accused the opposition of employing.
On preparations in Northern Nigeria, the campaign director-general said APC leaders had been meeting with traditional institutions, Islamic scholars, imams, and other respected personalities to build support for the President.
He said the consultations aimed to communicate the need for continuity in governance, build public confidence in the administration, and strengthen prospects for national peace and stability.
According to him, influential political actors across the region had aligned themselves with Tinubu’s re-election project, making the Kaduna gathering an important demonstration of northern support for the President.
Yari described APC governors as the President’s political commanders in the states, saying the campaign council’s nationwide mobilisation efforts would reinforce their activities.
He assured Tinubu that the party’s structures at various levels would work together to deliver the electoral victory its leaders promised.
Comparing the APC with its opponents, Yari argued that the ruling party had a decisive advantage in political experience, having emerged from a tradition of electoral contests involving several political organisations.
He recalled the political journeys of leaders who participated in earlier parties, including the Alliance for Democracy, All Nigeria Peoples Party, and Congress for Progressive Change, before joining the APC.
The former governor said decades of experience on those platforms produced seasoned politicians with an understanding of electoral organisation, voter mobilisation, and political competition.
He contrasted that history with what he described as the opposition’s limited electoral experience, arguing that the ruling party’s challengers lacked the political structures needed to dislodge the APC.
Yari expressed confidence that the governors’ combined strength, party leadership, and nationwide supporters would secure another mandate for Tinubu and Vice President Kashim Shettima.
He reiterated that the APC would rely on its record in government, direct engagement with citizens, and supporter mobilisation to defeat the opposition in the presidential contest.
The campaign launch drew President Tinubu, Vice President Shettima, First Lady Senator Oluremi Tinubu, APC National Chairman Professor Nentawe Yilwatda, governors, National Assembly members, and other senior party figures, marking the start of the ruling party’s coordinated nationwide campaign for the January 16, 2027 presidential election.