Yari: We Want to Hear Nigerians First
The All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential Campaign Council has unveiled a grassroots engagement strategy for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s 2027 re-election campaign, with town hall meetings and consultations with religious leaders planned ahead of large-scale rallies.
Director-General of the council, Senator Abdulaziz Yari, disclosed this in Kano on Sunday night after leading a delegation to the residence of the leader of the Qadiriyya Order, Sheikh Qaribullah Nasiru Kabara.
Yari said the decision to begin with direct engagement was aimed at allowing the campaign team to hear Nigerians’ concerns and expectations before launching full-scale mobilisation.
“Many Nigerians are eager to hear from us. Rather than commencing holistically with campaign rallies, we have chosen to meet citizens face-to-face through town hall meetings,” he said.
The former Zamfara State governor said the town hall meetings would provide the council with an opportunity to interact directly with citizens and obtain feedback on issues affecting their communities.
He said the information gathered during the engagements would help shape the campaign’s subsequent activities.
Yari also identified consultations with religious leaders as an important part of the council’s engagement strategy, citing their roles within communities and their ability to communicate with large numbers of people.
“We are in Kano to seek the blessings and spiritual guidance of the sheikhs. We were in Bauchi, Jos and Kaduna, and now Kano, where we have met with leaders of Izala and Tijjaniyya and are now meeting with the Qadiriyya sect,” he said.
The Kano visit formed part of a wider series of consultations being undertaken by the campaign council. Yari’s team had also recently engaged traditional and religious leaders in other northern states as the council begins preparations for the 2027 election.
Yari Speaks on Economy, Projects
On the administration’s economic record, Yari acknowledged the challenges Nigerians had faced, particularly rising prices and fluctuations in the foreign exchange market.
He, however, said the situation had begun to stabilise under the Tinubu administration.
Yari also pointed to infrastructure projects, including the Kano-Maradi railway, Kano-Kaduna-Abuja rail corridor, road projects and the Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano (AKK) gas pipeline, as examples of projects the administration was pursuing or supporting.
He said the government’s infrastructure agenda included efforts to complete projects inherited from the previous administration while implementing new ones.
The APC campaign council had earlier said its 2027 campaign would focus on the administration’s record and achievements rather than solely on making new promises.
The council was formally constituted by the APC in August, with President Tinubu as chairman, Vice-President Kashim Shettima as vice-chairman and Yari as Director-General.
Kano Pledges Support
Earlier, Kano State Deputy Governor Murtala Sule Garo pledged the state’s cooperation with the Tinubu campaign council.
Garo said the state had benefited from federal government projects and programmes under the APC-led administration.
The Qadiriyya leader, Sheikh Qaribullah Nasiru Kabara, also expressed support for Tinubu’s second-term bid following the meeting with the campaign delegation, according to reports from the engagement.
The campaign council’s consultations are expected to continue across the country as the APC prepares for the 2027 presidential election.
