The Director-General of the All Progressives Congress Presidential Campaign Council, Senator Abdulaziz Yari, has led a delegation of senior APC figures on consultations with prominent Islamic leaders across northern Nigeria ahead of the 2027 general elections.
The consultations took the delegation through Plateau, Bauchi, Kaduna and Kano states, where Yari and his team engaged scholars associated with major Islamic groups and traditions, including Izala, Tijjaniyya, JIBWIS and Qadiriyya. The meetings were aimed at seeking support for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s re-election bid.
The delegation included former APC National Chairman Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, former Kebbi State Governor Adamu Aliero, former Borno State Governor Ali Modu Sheriff, APC National Secretary Ajibola Bashiru, Senator Nasiru Sani Zangon Daura, former Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives Ahmed Idris Wase and James Abiodun Faleke.
The tour began in Jos, Plateau State, where Yari and members of the delegation met Sheikh Sani Yahaya Jingir, Chairman of the Council of Ulama of JIBWIS.
The delegation subsequently travelled to Bauchi, where it met Sheikh Ibrahim Dahiru Bauchi, Khalifa of the Sheikh Dahiru Usman Bauchi Zawiya. The cleric offered prayers for President Tinubu and urged political leaders to maintain regular engagement with religious communities rather than limiting consultations to election periods.
In Kaduna, Yari held discussions with Sheikh Abdullahi Bala Lau, National Chairman of the Kaduna faction of JIBWIS. The discussions focused on security, economic hardship and ways of strengthening trust among communities across the country.
Sheikh Bala Lau commended the outreach but called on political leaders to listen more closely to citizens and communicate with them sincerely.
The consultations ended in Kano State with a meeting between the APC delegation and Sheikh Qaribullahi Nasiru Kabara, leader of the Qadiriyya movement. The cleric offered prayers for peace in Nigeria and urged the delegation to promote a message of unity across the country.
The consultations come as political parties and prospective candidates intensify preparations and stakeholder engagements ahead of the 2027 elections.
Yari has also publicly cautioned against demands that the presidency must permanently remain in the North, arguing that rotating leadership among different parts of the country could help address Nigeria’s diversity and strengthen national unity.
The latest engagements therefore combine electoral consultations with discussions on security, economic conditions, religious-community relations and national cohesion as the 2027 political season approaches.
