YARI LEADS APC DELEGATION IN TALKS WITH NORTHERN MUSLIM LEADERS AHEAD OF 2027

The Director-General of the All Progressives Congress Presidential Campaign Council, Senator Abdulaziz Yari, has led a delegation of senior party figures in consultations with prominent Muslim clerics across northern Nigeria ahead of the 2027 presidential election. The meetings were aimed at engaging religious leaders and seeking their support for President Bola Tinubu’s bid for another term in office. The delegation visited Plateau, Kano, Kaduna and Bauchi states during the consultations, meeting representatives of major Islamic organisations and movements in the region. 

Yari, a former governor of Zamfara State, was accompanied by former Kano State Governor and former APC National Chairman Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, former Kebbi State Governor Adamu Aliero, Senator Nasiru Sani Zangon Daura, APC National Secretary Ajibola Basiru and former Borno State Governor Ali Modu Sheriff. Other members of the delegation included James Abiodun Faleke and former Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Ahmed Idris Wase. The group’s engagements formed part of the party’s wider consultations with faith-based and community stakeholders ahead of the elections. 

The consultations began in Jos, Plateau State, before the delegation proceeded to Kano, Kaduna and Bauchi. In the various states, the APC representatives met leaders associated with the Izala, Tijjaniyya, Jama’atu Izalatil Bid’ah Wa Iqamatis Sunnah and Qadiriyya movements. In Jos, the delegation met the Chairman of the Council of Ulama of JIBWIS, Sheikh Sani Yahaya Jingir, while in Bauchi, the group held discussions with Sheikh Ibrahim Dahiru Bauchi, the Khalifa of the Sheikh Dahiru Usman Bauchi Zawiya. 

In Kaduna, Yari held talks with Sheikh Abdullahi Bala Lau, the National Chairman of the Kaduna faction of JIBWIS, with discussions reportedly covering insecurity, economic difficulties and the need to maintain trust among communities. The delegation also met Sheikh Qaribullahi Nasiru Kabara, leader of the Qadiriyya movement, during its visit to Kano. Some of the religious leaders called for continued engagement between political leaders and the religious community, while prayers were offered for peace and stability in the country. 

The latest consultations are part of political activities already taking place ahead of the 2027 presidential election, with different groups and political actors engaging religious, community and regional stakeholders. Earlier in September, the Northern Muslim Intellectual Forum, which draws members from the northern states and the Federal Capital Territory, announced its support for Tinubu’s second-term bid. The APC campaign council’s engagement with Muslim leaders represents another effort by the ruling party to build support among influential religious and community figures in the North as preparations for the election continue.