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From Aniekan Aniekan, Calabar
Director-General of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential Campaign Council, Senator Abdulaziz Yari, has declared that the North will overwhelmingly support President Bola Tinubu’s re-election in 2027 in appreciation of his role in the emergence and re-election of former President Muhammadu Buhari in 2015 and 2019.
Yari said northern political leaders and voters were determined to reciprocate Tinubu’s support for Buhari by ensuring that the President completes two terms in office, insisting that the North had no intention of disrupting the rotation of presidential power between the northern and southern parts of the country.
He spoke at the UJ Esuene Stadium, Calabar, Cross River State, during the flag-off of the APC’s 2027 presidential campaign, where Vice President Kashim Shettima, Senate President Godswill Akpabio, APC National Chairman, Prof. Nentawe Yilwatda, and several governors joined thousands of party supporters to mobilise support for Tinubu’s second-term ambition.
Yari, who recently returned from Mecca, Saudi Arabia, said reactions from Nigerians across the six geopolitical zones indicated growing acceptance of the President and his administration’s economic reforms, expressing confidence that the APC would secure another mandate in 2027.
“President Tinubu supported Buhari in 2015 and 2019. The North will reciprocate this gesture. He will go for a second term and the North has no intention to shorten his tenure,” he declared.
The former Zamfara State governor, who also spoke through his spokesman, Prince Kassim Afegbua, said the North remained committed to political balance, national unity and the principle of power rotation, which he described as essential to democratic stability.
According to him, although some Nigerians initially expressed dissatisfaction with the administration’s policies, there were indications that public attitudes were changing as the government’s reforms began to produce results.
“The signs we are seeing presently are very bright and those who were angry at the President before have now sheathed their swords. When you connect to Almighty Allah, there is nothing he cannot do for you. Allah is the ultimate planner and ultimate giver of power. When you present your case to Allah, He will look at the piety of your heart to act.
“President Tinubu has been very kind to the North; he supported our son, the late President Muhammadu Buhari to assume office, it is only natural we pay him back with similar kindness and support. We are interested in ensuring that there is political balance of power in the country to promote democratic stability and unity.
“Mr. President’s reforms have started yielding democracy dividends across board. All that is required now is for consolidation of those reforms that will lead to prosperity for Nigerians,” he said.
Yari maintained that northerners were appreciative of political goodwill and would demonstrate their gratitude to Tinubu through the ballot, adding that allowing the President to complete a second term would strengthen the understanding underpinning the rotation of political power in the country.
“We will repay the good done to us by President Tinubu by re-electing him back to office in 2027. We don’t want anybody to disrupt the seamless rotation that has come to stay in Nigeria. We will ensure that every geopolitical zone has a sense of belonging. We need ourselves to keep the momentum afloat and deliver democratic dividends.
“Mr. President is a good man, a fantastic leader who carries everyone along. His policies have started yielding positive fruits and we need to encourage him to sustain the policies to relaunch the country back to global reckoning. The North are for Asiwaju, the South are also for Asiwaju,” he stated.
The campaign council director-general described the turnout at the Calabar rally as evidence of the President’s growing acceptance across the country, arguing that the administration’s infrastructure projects and economic policies had strengthened its prospects ahead of the elections.
“I am particularly excited by the huge turn out of our members and Cross Riverians towards President Tinubu’s re-election campaign. What I am seeing here today further assured Nigerians of Mr. President’s acceptability across board, from the North to the East, to the West and to the South-South. This is a pan-Nigeria mandate that speaks to the performance of Mr. President.
“We wish to thank our South-South brothers and sisters, party members, loyalists and supporters for such a huge turn out. President Tinubu considers every state in Nigeria as his constituency. His projects are spread across all the geopolitical zones in the country. We are elated that we can relate to projects that we have done including roads infrastructure, health infrastructure and human capital development.
“We say thank you South-South. Mr President has done so much to deserve a second term of office. We need continuity, we need consolidation, we need to move from reforms to prosperity,” he said.
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Yari also defended the administration over rising fuel prices, arguing that increases in petroleum product prices were not peculiar to Nigeria but reflected developments in the international crude oil market.
He cited Saudi Arabia, one of the world’s major oil producers, as an example of a country where consumers had also experienced increases in fuel prices.
“There’s fuel price hike in Saudi Arabia. Even Saudi Arabia, which produces more oil than us, has increased fuel prices,” he said.
He urged Nigerians to exercise patience with the administration, maintaining that international market forces played a significant role in determining petroleum prices and that the government should be allowed to consolidate its economic reforms.
Also addressing the rally, Vice President Kashim Shettima said the APC was in Cross River State to seek a renewed mandate for Tinubu and mobilise support for the party’s candidates contesting National and State Assembly seats in the 2027 elections.
Shettima said the President was working to reposition Nigeria through his Renewed Hope Agenda, describing the administration’s economic policies as difficult but necessary measures intended to lay the foundation for sustainable growth and development.
He identified infrastructure development, particularly the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway, and initiatives aimed at expanding opportunities for young people and women as some of the administration’s interventions that deserved continued public support.
The Vice President described Cross River State as strategically important to Nigeria’s economic growth because of its potential in tourism, agriculture, maritime commerce and regional trade, assuring residents that the state stood to benefit from the continuation of the administration’s development programmes.
“Cross River State occupies a strategic position in Nigeria’s economic and political landscape, with enormous potential in tourism, agriculture, maritime commerce and regional trade,” he said.
Governor Bassey Otu, expressed support for the President’s re-election, citing the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway, the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) and the removal of fuel subsidy among the administration’s major policy initiatives.
Otu said the President had laid a foundation for food security, economic transformation and accountable leadership, maintaining that continuity would enable the government to consolidate the gains of its reforms.
APC National Chairman, Prof. Nentawe Yilwatda, described Tinubu as a change agent and the party’s best candidate for the 2027 presidential election, urging Nigerians to support his ambition to build a $1 trillion economy by 2030.
Yilwatda said Cross River State stood to benefit from the administration’s economic agenda, particularly through infrastructure development and the proposed deep seaport, which he identified as an opportunity to strengthen maritime commerce, trade and investment.
He maintained that the President’s policies were designed to reposition Nigeria for long-term economic growth and international competitiveness.
The rally attracted prominent APC leaders, including Senate President Godswill Akpabio and Governors Umo Eno of Akwa Ibom, Hope Uzodimma of Imo and Douye Diri of Bayelsa, alongside other party chieftains, political officeholders and supporters.
Earlier, Shettima had arrived at the Margaret Ekpo International Airport, Calabar, where he was received by Governor Otu, Senator Yari and other APC leaders.
From the airport, the Vice President proceeded to the palace of the Obong of Calabar, Edidem Ekpo Okon Abasi Otu V, to pay homage before joining party leaders and supporters at the UJ Esuene Stadium for the campaign rally.
The APC leaders maintained that the administration’s infrastructure projects, economic reforms and development initiatives across the six geopolitical zones provided sufficient grounds for Nigerians to renew Tinubu’s mandate in 2027.
