SYNUP Backs Yari as Tinubu 2027 Campaign DG, Debunks ‘Lazy Youths’ Claim

By Abdullahi Alhassan

The Senator Yari National Unity Project for Tinubu 2027, SYNUP 4 Tinubu 2027, has thrown its weight behind Senator Abdul’aziz Abubakar Yari as Director-General of the APC Presidential Campaign Council, even as it moved to clear the air over comments he made at a rally in Uyo last week.

In a statement issued by National Coordinator, Dr. Sani Abdullahi Shinkafi, the group said reports that Yari called Nigerian youths “lazy” were a deliberate distortion of his remarks at the Godswill Akpabio International Stadium on November 6.

According to SYNUP, the Senator addressed the issues of hunger and cost of living directly. “He opened by saying ‘we have hunger.’ He then spoke about food availability in markets and the need for industrious Nigerians to earn their living,” the statement said.

The group argued that the comment was about work ethic and productivity, not an attack on any demographic. “At no point did he mention, single out or describe Nigerian youths,” it stressed, urging the public to watch the full video in circulation.

Dr, Shinkafi said the Senator recognizes the economic hardship facing households. “His message was that enterprise remains the surest route out of hardship. That is a conviction he has backed with action for nearly two decades,” he added.

To prove that point, SYNUP highlighted the Senator Abdul’aziz Yari Scholarship Initiative launched in 2024. The scheme, funded entirely by Yari, is currently sponsoring 2,055 orphans and indigent students.

The beneficiaries are spread across 19 tertiary institutions in the North West. In its first year alone, the Initiative disbursed ₦216 million in tuition and pays each student ₦15,000 monthly stipend until graduation.

On security and employment, the group said Yari facilitated the recruitment of 84 youths from Zamfara West into the Nigerian Army’s 86th Regular Recruit Intake. Another 74 from the same zone joined at the 87th Intake.

The six LGAs covered are Anka, Bakura, Bukkuyum, Gummi, Maradun and Talata Mafara. SYNUP described the enlistments as direct pathways to careers in national service for young people in a conflict-prone region.

In agriculture, the group said Yari has consistently supported farmers, many of them young, with fertilisers, agrochemicals and tools. The intervention, it noted, was aimed at boosting productivity and food security in Zamfara.

As governor between 2011 and 2019, Yari’s administration also created jobs for graduates. In 2017, it recruited 1,000 NCE-qualified teachers for primary schools across the state.

On humanitarian support, SYNUP recalled that in 2024 Yari distributed food items and clothing to 10,000 orphans in Zamfara during Ramadan and Sallah. “A leader who invests in thousands of young lives does not hold them in contempt,” Shinkafi said.

The group said President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s decision in August 2026 to name Yari DG of the Tinubu/Shettima 2027 Campaign Council was based on that track record and political experience.

Yari, it noted, served in the House of Representatives from 2007 to 2011, chaired the Nigeria Governors’ Forum from 2015 to 2019, and currently chairs the Senate Committee on Water Resources.

SYNUP said the Campaign Council has started with grassroots engagement, including town-hall meetings and consultations with religious and traditional rulers, “to listen before asking for votes.”

The group directed all its coordinators across the 36 states, FCT and six geopolitical zones to intensify mobilisation for the January 16, 2027 presidential election.

It concluded by calling on the media to avoid misrepresentation and on Nigerian youths to assess leaders by verifiable records. “Political disagreement is legitimate. But facts must not be sacrificed for headlines,” the statement said.