By APC stakeholders across Nigeria’s North-Central states have pledged full backing for Yari’s 2027 campaign leadership, framing former Zamfara Governor Abdulaziz Yari’s new role steering President Bola Tinubu’s re-election bid as a shrewd move that strengthens the President’s standing across the North.
In a statement issued Wednesday by its chairman, Saleh Zazzaga, the North-Central APC Forum congratulated Yari on becoming Director-General of the party’s Presidential Campaign Council, alongside two other North-Central figures who picked up roles alongside him: House of Representatives member James Faleke, named Deputy Director-General for Election Planning, Coordination, and Monitoring, and Okpokwu Ogenyi, appointed North-Central Coordinator.
Why the forum is confident in Yari’s 2027 campaign leadership
The statement described Yari as a politician with broad acceptance across the North-East, North-West and North-Central zones alike, portraying him as a unifying figure respected not just by fellow politicians but by traditional and religious leaders, as well as youth and women’s groups. Pointing to his track record, the forum argued Tinubu couldn’t have picked a stronger candidate from the party’s pool of senior figures to lead Yari’s 2027 campaign push to victory.
The forum also noted that Yari’s elevation to the role was hardly a surprise, given the time and resources it says he had already been channelling into mobilising support for Tinubu’s second term, an effort tied to his leadership of the Renewed Hope Network, a grassroots group built around promoting the President’s Renewed Hope Agenda.
A long history inside the party behind Yari’s 2027 campaign role
The statement traced Yari’s political career back to his time as a federal lawmaker representing Anka/Talata Mafara from 2007 to 2011, before he became Zamfara governor in 2011 under the now-defunct ANPP and secured re-election in 2015 under the newly formed APC, a party he helped establish following the ANPP’s merger with other opposition groups. He went on to chair the Nigeria Governors’ Forum from May 2015, succeeding former Rivers Governor Chibuike Amaechi, and previously served as the ANPP’s National Financial Secretary and its Zamfara State chairman.
Roles for Faleke and Ogenyi within Yari’s 2027 campaign structure
The forum also highlighted the credentials of Yari’s two North-Central colleagues on the council. Faleke, who represents Ikeja Federal Constituency, previously served as Secretary of the Presidential Campaign Council during the 2023 Tinubu/Shettima run, led the group that purchased Tinubu’s ₦100 million APC nomination and expression-of-interest forms in April 2022, and acted as Tinubu’s official agent during that year’s APC presidential primaries. Ogenyi, meanwhile, brings experience from his earlier work leading the Renewed Hope Network’s Technical Committee under Yari.
A six-million-vote pledge tied to Yari’s 2027 campaign
Committing its “full and total support” to the council, the forum pledged to work with Ogenyi specifically to deliver six million votes for Tinubu from the North-Central zone in 2027, and urged other APC stakeholders to rally behind the structure now in place for Yari’s 2027 campaign.
The bigger picture
The council itself was unveiled over the weekend, with Tinubu as chairman, Vice President Kashim Shettima as Vice Chairman I, APC National Chairman Nentawe Yilwatda as Vice Chairman II, Yari as Director-General, and Imo State Governor Hope Uzodimma serving as secretary, completing the leadership team now driving Yari’s 2027 campaign strategy nationwide.
