Former Governor of Zamfara State, Senator Ahmad Sani Yarima, has said Senator Abdulaziz Abubakar Yari has all the political wherewithal and expertise to steer President Bola Tinubu’s campaign train to victory in 2027.
Senator Yarima, who governed Zamfara between 1999 and 2007, said Senator Yari’s appointment as director-general of the All Progressives Congress Presidential Campaign Council by President Tinubu was putting round pegs in round holes.
A statement by a special assistant to Senator Yarima, Saifullahi Abubakar, said the former governor revealed this in Gusau on Thursday at the sidelines of Zamfara at 30 anniversary celebrations.
Mr Yarima, a three-term senator, said President Tinubu’s choice of Senator Yari was due to his “pragmatic leadership, team spirit, exposure and appeal to various critical stakeholders across the country.”
“Senator Yari is a pragmatist and goal-getter. I saw this 20 years ago when he led my re-election campaign in 2003. He is a shrewd and dynamic politician who deploys his energy, brain, time and resources to achieve set goals,” the statement quoted Mr Yarima as saying.
He said Senator Yari is a credentialed and strategic politician right from 1999 — where he proved his mettle as a party leader, lawmaker and two-term governor in Nigeria’s political ecosystem.
Senator Yarima said Mr Yari’s eight-year stint as a governor, coupled with his legislative experiences in the two chambers of the National Assembly, have adequately endowed him with massive contacts across the length and breadth of the country.
“There is no gainsaying the fact that he is one of the most successful chairmen of the Nigerian Governors Forum. His charismatic leadership had endeared him to his colleagues. He understands both the political and governance structures of the country and how best to approach them,” Mr Yarima said.
The former Zamfara governor described Senator Yari as a detribalized and progressive Nigerian, who invests heavily in building bridges across ethnic, religious and regional boundaries.
“By entrusting the presidential re-election campaign to him, President Tinubu must have analysed and appreciated the qualities and competence of Senator Yari, and he should be rest assured that he will deploy human and material resources to ensure that he steers the campaign into an astounding victory in the January 2027 presidential elections,” the statement quoted Mr Yarima.
Senator Yarima said is working round the clock to mobilise broad-based support to ensure that Mr Yari delivers on this important mandate. “Having known and worked with him for decades, it is easier for all of us to work with Senator Abdulaziz Yari in the 2027 APC campaign council to deliver victory for President Tinubu and our great party,” he said.
The former Zamfara governor said Senator Yari’s “meticulousness, unparalleled energy and team spirit would clearly take his ante up in organising and leading the campaign to a clear victory in the presidential elections.”
