The Director-General of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential Campaign Council, Senator Abubakar Yari, has commenced strategic consultations across Nigeria ahead of the 2027 presidential election, in what is being described as a grassroots-driven mobilisation campaign for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
Yari’s first major outing comes after a massive prayer session attended by more than 1,000 Islamic clerics at his home state last week, signalled the beginning of a wider consultative engagement with traditional and religious leaders across the country.
The campaign council DG began the consultations with a visit to the Sultanate, where he met with the Sultan of Sokoto, His Eminence Alhaji Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar III.
Speaking during the engagement, Yari said the Tinubu administration had recorded significant achievements which the campaign would communicate to Nigerians as part of its mobilisation strategy.
“We believe in justice. President Tinubu has achieved a lot and we can demonstrate that. We have a lot to showcase,” Yari said.
The Sultan, in his remarks, stressed the importance of people and peaceful political engagement, warned against the weaponisation of politics.
“Politics is a game of numbers, not of death. In politics, what you need is people,” the Sultan said, while urging political actors to avoid turning politics into a source of conflict.
He also described insecurity and poverty as challenges requiring sustained collective efforts, noting that while they may not be completely eradicated, they can be significantly reduced.
“Insecurity is everybody’s problem. You can never eradicate poverty. You can reduce it. You can never eradicate insecurity. But you can reduce it,” he said.
The consultations are expected to span Nigeria’s six geopolitical zones, with engagements involving traditional rulers as well as Christian and Muslim religious leaders.
Yari, a seasoned political operator with a strong grassroots orientation, is expected to deploy the campaign council’s mobilisation structures towards securing more than 20 million votes for President Tinubu in the 2027 election.
The consultation team included the governors of Sokoto, Kebbi and Zamfara States, as well as former governors and senior political figures including former Katsina State Governor Aminu Masari, former governor and Senator Aliyu Wamakko, former Borno State Governor Ali Modu Sheriff, former Senate President Anyim Pius Anyim, former Kano State Governor Abdullahi Ganduje, former Kebbi State Governor and Senator Adamu Aliero, and Hon. James Faleke.
The next phase of the consultation is expected to move to the South-West, with Lagos listed as the next major stop and a planned engagement with the Oba of Lagos, Oba Rilwan Akiolu.
