The North is being asked to settle a political debt ahead of 2027, as Abdul’Aziz Yari, Director-General of the All Progressives Congress Presidential Campaign Council, calls on the region to repay Bola Tinubu for backing Muhammadu Buhari. Yari made the statement on Monday in Lagos while leading members of the campaign council on a visit […]

The North is being asked to settle a political debt ahead of 2027, as Abdul’Aziz Yari, Director-General of the All Progressives Congress Presidential Campaign Council, calls on the region to repay Bola Tinubu for backing Muhammadu Buhari.

Yari made the statement on Monday in Lagos while leading members of the campaign council on a visit to the palace of the Oba of Lagos, Rilwan Akiolu.

The former Zamfara governor recalled that Tinubu resisted attempts by some members of the All Progressives Congress to persuade him to contest the 2019 presidential election.

According to Yari, Tinubu maintained at the time that the presidency should remain with the North and pledged his support for Buhari.

Yari said Tinubu subsequently remained committed to Buhari’s political ambition and supported him until the end of his tenure.

He argued that the North should now reciprocate that gesture by backing Tinubu as he seeks another term in the 2027 presidential election.

“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 maintained that northerners had no reason to oppose Tinubu’s re-election, urging the region to support the president to continue what he described as the good work his administration had begun.

Yari also assured Tinubu of support from what he described as people of high calibre and character in northern Nigeria who believe in justice and fairness.

The senator representing Zamfara West said the campaign council was not backing Tinubu simply because of power rotation, but because it believed Nigerians wanted him to continue as president.

He also praised Tinubu for what he described as efforts to restructure the country despite the difficult circumstances inherited from previous administrations.

Meanwhile, Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu said the campaign council’s engagement with traditional rulers reflected the importance of traditional institutions in promoting peace, unity and national development.