By Jelili Gbadamosi
General, Abdul’Aziz Abubakar Yari, Former Zamfara State Governor and APC Presidential Campaign Council Director has called on politicians in the North to respect the informal power-sharing arrangement that brought President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to office in 2023.
Yari made the call on Saturday after a closed-door meeting with Kano State Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf at the Kano Government House.
He argued that the North should allow Tinubu to complete an eight-year tenure before seeking to reclaim the presidency, noting that former President Muhammadu Buhari, a northerner, governed the country for eight years from 2015 to 2023.
According to Yari, the presidency shifted to the South in 2023 after the completion of Buhari’s two terms, and the existing political understanding should be maintained.
He said Nigerians needed to understand the country’s political arrangements and work toward preserving national unity despite regional and political differences.
Yari said, “66 years ago since independence, the country was led by northerners for 47 years,” while urging political actors to recognise the importance of the existing arrangement.
The APC chieftain acknowledged that the Tinubu administration, like previous governments, faced challenges and was not perfect. However, he argued that the country’s problems should not be attributed entirely to the current administration.
He also dismissed the idea that insecurity was peculiar to Nigeria, pointing to security challenges faced by other countries, including the United States.
On the economy, Yari urged Nigerians to compare key economic indicators from 2023, when Tinubu assumed office, with current figures when assessing the administration.
He maintained that efforts were being made by governments at the federal and state levels to address the country’s economic and security challenges.
Yari further appealed to northerners not to seek to overturn the zoning arrangement on the basis of the region’s population.
He said the presidency would return to the North after Tinubu’s tenure if the existing rotation principle was maintained.
“I am calling on northerners to note that by the time Bola Ahmed Tinubu finishes in 2031, it will definitely come back to the North. This is how the arrangement is,” he said.
Yari’s comments come amid growing political activities ahead of the 2027 presidential election, with political figures and groups across the country debating the future of the presidency and the relevance of zoning in determining the next occupant of Aso Rock.
