A former Zamfara State Governor, Abdulaziz Yari, has urged Northerners to support the re-election of Bola Tinubu come 2027, insisting that the region must now “pay back” the support extended to Buhari between 2015 and 2023 by Southern Nigeria.
Yari made the call during a meeting on Saturday with Islamic clerics in Talata-Mafara, where he also urged religious leaders to intensify prayers for lasting peace and security across the country.
According to the senator representing Zamfara West Senatorial District in the National Assembly, Southern Nigeria should be allowed to complete its eight-year tenure in the interest of national unity and political balance.
He insisted that the alliance between Northern Nigeria and the Southwest remains critical to national politics and electoral success.
Speaking on the need for political cooperation ahead of the next election cycle, the former governor described the partnership between both regions as a strategic and longstanding relationship that should be sustained.
“The election is around the corner, and this is the time that we need prayers, and this collaboration between Northern Nigeria and the Southwest is something that the Southwest have done its own bit between 2015 and 2023,” Yari said.
According to him, the Southwest stood firmly behind Buhari throughout his presidency, making it necessary for the North-West to reciprocate the gesture by backing Tinubu’s re-election bid.
“So we in this part of the country, especially we in the North-West, we have no reasons after Bola Tinubu and the Southwest gave Muhammadu Buhari all the support between 2015 to 2019 and 2019 to 2023 to his victory and his leadership.
“I think for us, it is time for us to pay back,” he added.
Yari also stressed the importance of regional balance in Nigeria’s leadership structure, arguing that power-sharing between the North and South remains essential for political stability and national unity.
“We need to understand that in this country, we have North and South, and there is no way the leadership will remain in Northern Nigeria,” he stated.
The former governor further pointed to the religious and cultural alignment between the North and Southwest as part of the factors strengthening the current political alliance under the All Progressives Congress (APC).
“From the Southwest, we are having the same culture of religion, which is why today we are having a Muslim-Muslim ticket,” he said.
Yari also urged continued support for Tinubu, saying the President deserves a second term in office.
“We have to support President Bola Tinubu for the second term in office, I think it has become obvious for us to do so,” he said.
