Former Abdulaziz Yari has called on Northerners to support the re-election of Bola Ahmed Tinubu in 2027, insisting that Southern Nigeria should be allowed to complete an eight-year tenure in the interest of national unity and political balance.
Yari made the appeal on Saturday during a meeting with Islamic clerics in Talata-Mafara, where he also urged religious leaders to intensify prayers for lasting peace and security across the country.
The senator representing Zamfara West Senatorial District said the North must now “pay back” the support the Southwest gave to former President Muhammadu Buhari between 2015 and 2023.
According to him, the alliance between Northern Nigeria and the Southwest remains crucial to national politics and electoral success.
“The election is around the corner, and this is the time that we need prayers, and this collaboration between Northern Nigeria and the Southwest is something that the Southwest have done its own bit between 2015 and 2023,” Yari said.
He noted that the Southwest stood firmly behind Buhari throughout his presidency and argued that the North-West should now reciprocate the gesture by supporting Tinubu’s second-term bid.
“So we in this part of the country, especially we in the North-West, we have no reasons after Bola Tinubu and the Southwest gave Muhammadu Buhari all the support between 2015 to 2019 and 2019 to 2023 to his victory and his leadership.
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“I think for us, it is time for us to pay back,” he added.
Yari stressed that maintaining a balance of power between the North and South remains vital for political stability and national unity.
“We need to understand that in this country, we have North and South, and there is no way the leadership will remain in Northern Nigeria,” he stated.
The former governor also pointed to the religious and cultural similarities between the North and Southwest as factors strengthening the alliance under the All Progressives Congress.
“From the Southwest, we are having the same culture of religion, which is why today we are having a Muslim-Muslim ticket,” he said.
Yari concluded by urging continued support for Tinubu’s administration and re-election campaign.
“We have to support President Bola Tinubu for the second term in office, I think it has become obvious for us to do so,” he said.