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The Director-General of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Presidential Campaign Council, PCC, Abdulaziz Yari, has urged northern political leaders to reciprocate President Bola Tinubu’s support for late President Muhammadu Buhari by backing his re-election bid in 2027.
Mr Yari said Mr Tinubu stood by Buhari when the presidency was considered the turn of the North, insisting that northern stakeholders should now support the president’s bid for a second term.
The former Zamfara governor spoke on Monday when he led members of the PCC to the palace of the Oba of Lagos, Oba Rilwan Akiolu, in Lagos.
According to him, some APC members had attempted to persuade Mr Tinubu to contest the 2019 presidential election against Buhari, but he resisted the pressure.
He said Mr Tinubu instead insisted that power should remain in the North and supported Buhari’s bid for a second term.
“I remember there was a struggle by some power-mongering bloc within the APC that tried to convince Tinubu to contest the presidential election in 2019.
“He resisted the pressure and said it was the turn of the North.
“Tinubu said as long as Buhari can come out and ask people to vote for him, he would be with Buhari till the end. And that was what Tinubu truly did,” Mr Yari said.
He said the gesture created an obligation for northern political stakeholders to support Mr Tinubu’s re-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,” he said.
Mr Yari urged northerners to support the president’s administration, saying there was no justification for the region to withhold its support from Mr Tinubu.
“Today, I don’t think there is an excuse for us from the northern region not to support Tinubu to continue the good job he started and complete his tenure,” he said.
He also assured the president of continued support from northern political leaders who, according to him, believed in justice and fairness.
“The message from northern Nigeria, where I came from, is that there is nothing to worry about. There are still people of high calibre and character who believe in justice and fairness.
“We are going to do our best to ensure that Tinubu’s journey continues to the end. He can count on us,” Mr Yari added.
