The Director-General of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential Campaign Council, Senator Abdulaziz Yari, has dismissed the chances of former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar and former Anambra State Governor Peter Obi in the 2027 presidential election, challenging them to identify states they can confidently claim to control outside their regional strongholds.
Yari argued that neither Atiku, of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), nor Obi, of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), had the nationwide political structure required to defeat President Bola Tinubu, insisting that regional popularity alone was insufficient to secure victory in a presidential election.
The former Zamfara State governor spoke after meeting Tinubu at the State House in Abuja, where he briefed the President on preparations for the APC’s re-election campaign and the proposed timetable for nationwide mobilisation.
“Can the ADC candidate today in the southern part of the country beat his chest and say he has control of one state in the South? And I don’t think Peter Obi, who used to be my colleague, can beat his chest and say he has control of one state in northern Nigeria,” Yari said.
He maintained that a presidential candidate must build substantial support across the country’s two major geographical blocs to stand a realistic chance of winning.
According to him, even a candidate with overwhelming support in one region would struggle to win the presidency without a comparable political foothold elsewhere.
“This calculation shows us that even if you have control of 80 per cent of the South, if you don’t have anything in the North, you cannot make it. If you have 80 per cent control of the North, if you don’t have any state in the South, you cannot make it. And that’s what it is,” he said.
APC Unveils Campaign Timetable
Yari also announced that the APC’s presidential campaign organisation would be formally inaugurated on October 14, with the campaign’s official flag-off scheduled for October 24 in Kaduna State.
He said Tinubu had approved a proposed timetable for visits to states across the federation, adding that the party was preparing to intensify its mobilisation ahead of the 2027 election.
“The President asked for me to come and brief him on where we are, and to discuss the timetable for the state visits,” Yari said.
“By God’s grace, his team, I, and Mr President himself, we have agreed on how it’s going to be done. We have put forward a proposal.”
According to him, the inauguration ceremony will take place at the State House Banquet Hall in Abuja, after which the campaign will move to Kaduna for its official launch.
“By God’s grace, on the 24th of October, we’re going to do our flag-off campaign in Kaduna, inshallah,” he said.
Yari disclosed that Port Harcourt, Rivers State, and Maiduguri, Borno State, would follow Kaduna on the campaign itinerary.
He added that the complete schedule for the nationwide tour would be made public after the inauguration, noting that the proposed visits had received the President’s approval.
Yari Cites Tinubu’s Nationwide Support
Reiterating his confidence in Tinubu’s chances, Yari claimed that the President enjoyed political support in more than 20 states, split between the North and South.
He argued that the APC’s geographical reach gave Tinubu an advantage over opposition candidates whom he accused of lacking comparable nationwide influence.
Yari also invoked the 2011 presidential election, citing the performance of the late former President Muhammadu Buhari to illustrate why a candidate’s regional popularity might not translate into victory at the national level.
According to him, Buhari enjoyed overwhelming support across several northern states but failed to secure the presidency in that election because he lacked sufficient support in the South.
“Look at Buhari, of blessed memory. He had control of over 70 per cent at that time, over 11 states in the North, and had no control of one in the South. He couldn’t make it all the way,” Yari said.
He contrasted Buhari’s experience with what he described as Tinubu’s stronger political footing across both regions.
“And today, I’m sure Asiwaju Bola Tinubu has control of more than 10 states in the South, in a conservative estimate, and I believe he has control of more than 10 states in the North. This is calculation; it is not rocket science,” he added.
The claims about state-level political control were Yari’s assessment and were not independently established in his remarks.
‘We Are Not Promising, We Are Doing It’
Beyond the APC’s electoral calculations, Yari defended Tinubu’s record in office, arguing that the administration had made progress despite the economic challenges confronting the country.
He said the ruling party intended to campaign on its performance in government rather than rely solely on promises to voters.
“President Bola Tinubu, since the time he assumed office, has turned around the situation that he met on ground; still, the economy is moving,” he said.
Yari added that the APC believed its record provided sufficient grounds to challenge the opposition in 2027.
“So I think we have done enough that we can tell our opponents about what we did,” he said.
“We are not promising. We are doing it, and we are going to continue.”
Yari’s remarks signal an early effort by the APC campaign leadership to frame the 2027 presidential contest around Tinubu’s national political reach, the opposition’s regional strength and the ruling party’s record in office.
