‘Yari Never Called Nigerian Youths Lazy’ – Senator Yari National Unity Project For Tinubu 2027 (SYNUP 4 TINUBU 2027)

SYNUP sets the record straight on the Uyo rally remarks and rallies Nigerians behind the Director-General of the Tinubu/Shettima Presidential Campaign Council

The Senator Yari National Unity Project for Tinubu 2027 (SYNUP 4 Tinubu 2027) has rejected as a deliberate distortion the claim, now circulating across a section of the media and social platforms, that Senator Abdul’aziz Abubakar Yari, Director-General of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential Campaign Council, described Nigerian youths as “lazy”. He did not say so.

What was actually said:

At the APC presidential campaign rally at the Godswill Akpabio International Stadium, Uyo, on Friday, 6 November 2026, Senator Yari spoke on the availability of food and the cost of living. He opened his remark by stating plainly: “we have hunger.” He went on to say that food is available in our markets and that industrious Nigerians would put food on their tables.

At no point in that remark did the Senator mention, single out or describe Nigerian youths. To turn a statement on the dignity of work, made by a man who had just acknowledged that hunger exists, into the headline “Yari calls youths lazy” is not reporting; it is spin. The full, unedited clip is in the public domain, and we urge every Nigerian to watch it in its entirety and judge for themselves.

We do not dismiss the economic pressure that many households are facing, and neither does the Senator, who acknowledged it in the same breath. His message was simple: work, enterprise and productivity remain the surest route out of hardship. It is a conviction he has backed with action and personal resources, as the record shows.

A record that speaks for itself

• Education as an engine of opportunity: Through the Senator Abdul’aziz Yari Scholarship Initiative, launched in 2024 and funded solely by him, 2,055 orphans and indigent students are studying at 19 public and private tertiary institutions across the North West. The Initiative paid ₦216 million in tuition in its first year alone, provides each beneficiary a monthly stipend of ₦15,000, and sponsors every student through to graduation.

• Careers in national service: Senator Yari facilitated the enlistment of 84 young men and women from the six local government areas of Zamfara West (Anka, Bakura, Bukkuyum, Gummi, Maradun and Talata Mafara) into the Nigerian Army’s 86th Regular Recruit Intake, and a further 74 recruits from the district at the 87th Intake. This provided military careers to these youths in defence of the nation.

• Livelihoods through agriculture: Yari has supported farmers, many of them young people, with fertilisers, agrochemicals and farm tools, boosting productivity and food security in a predominantly agrarian state.

• Public-service jobs as Governor: As two-term Governor of Zamfara State (2011–2019), his administration in 2017 announced the recruitment of 1,000 NCE-qualified teachers for primary schools, opening the public service to young graduates while strengthening basic education.

• Compassion in action: In 2024 he provided food items and clothing to 10,000 orphans across Zamfara State during Ramadan and Sallah.

These are not slogans. They are documented interventions, reported in the national media, that have changed the trajectory of thousands of young lives. A leader who sends thousands of young people to university and into national service does not hold Nigerian youths in contempt; he invests in them.

The right man to lead the Tinubu/Shettima campaign

In August 2026, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu appointed Senator Yari Director-General of the Tinubu/Shettima 2027 Presidential Campaign Council. It is an appointment grounded in experience: he is a former member of the House of Representatives (2007–2011), a two-term Governor, Chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (2015–2019), where he united 36 governors around a common agenda, and the current Chairman of the Senate Committee on Water Resources.

Under his leadership, the Campaign Council has opened its mobilisation with town-hall meetings and consultations with religious and traditional institutions, choosing to listen to Nigerians before asking for their votes. That is the mark of a leader who respects the electorate.

SYNUP 4 Tinubu 2027, with structures across the six geopolitical zones, the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory, hereby:

1. reaffirms its total confidence in Senator Abdul’aziz Abubakar Yari as Director-General of the Presidential Campaign Council;

2. directs all its national, zonal and state officers to step up grassroots mobilisation in support of the Director-General and the Tinubu/Shettima ticket ahead of the 16 January 2027 presidential election;

3. calls on Nigerian youths, the backbone of this movement, to judge leaders by their records, not by their propaganda; and

4. urges all APC members, support groups and stakeholders to close ranks behind the Campaign Council and keep the campaign focused on issues, not distractions.

A call to the media

We respect the role of the media in a democracy and welcome robust scrutiny of every candidate and campaign official. However, fairness demands that remarks be reported in full and in context. We call on media organisations and commentators who have published or amplified the claim that Senator Yari called Nigerian youths lazy to review the complete footage and correct the record. Political disagreement is legitimate; misrepresentation is not.

Nigerian youths deserve a serious conversation about jobs, skills and opportunity. Senator Yari has been part of that conversation, with results, for nearly two decades. SYNUP 4 Tinubu 2027 stands firmly with him.

SYNUP 4 Tinubu 2027 is a nationwide support network mobilising for the re-election of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Vice President Kashim Shettima. Its National Executive Committee comprises 65 national offices and directorates spread across the six geopolitical zones, with coordinators in all 36 states and the FCT.

Dr. Sani Abdullahi Shinkafi

(Wamban Shinkafi)

National Coordinator

Senator Yari National Unity Project for Tinubu 2027 (SYNUP 4 Tinubu 2027)