The All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential Campaign Council Director-General, Senator Abdulaziz Yari, has asked President Bola Tinubu to ‘Go and sleep’, describing the forthcoming 2027 presidential election as a walkover.
The APC chieftain expressed confidence in President Tinubu’s chances in northern Nigeria ahead of the poll.
Yari said Tinubu should not be worried about securing votes in the North, insisting that the president’s projects and policies would earn him massive support during the election.
He made the remarks on Tuesday during the APC campaign rally in Dutse, the Jigawa State capital, Naija News reports.
According to the former Zamfara State governor, the large turnout at the rally showed that the ruling party still enjoyed strong support in the region.
He said, “The president should just go and sleep because it is a walkover for him in the North. His projects and policies will save him.”
Yari also disclosed that Jigawa State Governor, Umar Namadi, had assured the APC campaign team that the state would deliver two million votes for Tinubu in 2027.
He said the target would come from the state’s over 3.7 million registered voters.
Also speaking at the rally, Vice-President Kashim Shettima urged northerners to support Tinubu’s second-term ambition, saying the president had shown commitment to the region through several development projects.
Shettima listed the Kwanar Danja-Hadejia road, Kano-Maiduguri road and Kano-Maradi rail project among the major infrastructure projects being undertaken by the Federal Government.
He also mentioned the construction of 1,500 Renewed Hope housing units and support programmes for thousands of farmers across the country.
The vice-president further disclosed that the Federal Government had earmarked over ₦50 billion for the Dutse Water Project.
According to him, the funding followed a request made by the late Emir of Dutse during the 2023 election campaign.
Shettima told APC supporters that Tinubu had shown respect and concern for northern Nigeria and urged them to return the gesture by supporting his re-election.
“He respects the North, let’s reciprocate it,” he said.
The vice-president also recalled Tinubu’s political support for some northern politicians, including former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar in 2007 and former Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Nuhu Ribadu, in 2011.
He further credited the president with playing an important role in the emergence of former President Muhammadu Buhari in 2015.
Shettima said another term for Tinubu would allow the administration to continue its ongoing projects and programmes across the country.
Yobe State Governor, Mai Mala Buni, also called on Nigerians to allow Tinubu to complete his tenure, arguing that the president had demonstrated goodwill towards northern Nigeria.
Similarly, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Political Affairs, Ibrahim Kabir Masari, claimed that the APC continued to enjoy widespread support across the North.
Masari said virtually all former governors in the region were supporting Tinubu’s re-election bid.
Sokoto State Governor, Ahmed Aliyu, who represented the Chairman of the APC Governors’ Forum, Hope Uzodimma, also urged Nigerians to support the president for another term.
He said continuity would enable the Tinubu administration to consolidate its ongoing policies and programmes.
