Former Zamfara State Governor Abdul’aziz Yari has cautioned northerners against demanding that Nigeria’s presidency must return to the North in 2027, warning that such a position could deepen divisions and undermine national unity. Yari, who serves as Director-General of the All Progressives Congress Presidential Campaign Council, spoke on Sunday during an engagement with prominent Islamic […]

Former Zamfara State Governor Abdul’aziz Yari has cautioned northerners against demanding that Nigeria’s presidency must return to the North in 2027, warning that such a position could deepen divisions and undermine national unity.

Yari, who serves as Director-General of the All Progressives Congress Presidential Campaign Council, spoke on Sunday during an engagement with prominent Islamic scholars in Bauchi State.

The meeting was held at the residence of the late Sheikh Dahiru Usman Bauchi as the APC campaign council continues consultations with influential stakeholders ahead of the 2027 elections.

The delegation’s consultation tour had earlier taken it to Jos, Plateau State, where members paid a condolence visit to Sheikh Sani Yahaya Jingir following the death of the National Treasurer of the Jama’atu Izalatil Bid’ah Wa’ikamatis Sunnah.

The council has continued its engagements with stakeholders in different parts of the country as it prepares for further political activities ahead of the general elections.

Addressing the gathering in Bauchi, Yari said Nigerians should not insist that the country’s leadership must always come from one region.

He argued that demanding exclusive northern control of the presidency would create division, stressing that Nigeria’s leadership should reflect the country’s geographical diversity.

“If we say that nobody is going to rule Nigeria except somebody from the North, we have divided ourselves,” Yari said.

According to him, Nigeria can strengthen its unity by allowing different parts of the country to produce the President at different times.

Yari said the country had been working towards maintaining unity and equality through a leadership arrangement that gives different regions an opportunity to occupy the highest political office.

He suggested that a President from the North could be followed by a President from the South, describing the arrangement as a response to Nigeria’s diversity.

The former governor urged Nigerians to embrace a leadership structure that promotes unity rather than one that restricts the presidency to a particular region.

Meanwhile, the APC governorship candidate in Bauchi State, Mohammed Abubakar, told the Ulamas that President Bola Tinubu was a lover of the late Sheikh Dahiru Bauchi.

Abubakar recalled Tinubu’s visit to Bauchi to sympathise with followers of the late Islamic scholar following his death.

He also appealed to Bauchi residents to support Tinubu’s re-election and vote for APC candidates across the different levels of government in the 2027 elections.

Yari, in his remarks, described the late Sheikh Dahiru Bauchi as one of Bauchi State’s respected voices of wisdom and guidance.