By Myke Uzendu, Abuja
A grassroots mobilisation group within the All Progressives Congress (APC), Daga Titi Zuwa Titi, has described former Kano State Governor, Senator Rabiu Kwankwaso’s recent comments on the appointment of Senator Abdul’aziz Yari as Director-General of the APC Presidential Campaign Council as evidence that the opposition is unsettled by Yari’s emergence.
In a statement on Monday signed by its National Coordinator, Comrade Jaafar Hassan, the group said Kwankwaso’s decision to publicly appeal to Yari to reconsider his acceptance of the campaign role indicated the political significance attached to the appointment.
The group argued that it was revealing that, among the appointments announced in the APC campaign structure, Kwankwaso singled out Yari for comment.
“Politicians rarely advise their opponents to abandon positions they consider politically irrelevant,” the group said.
It added: “You do not publicly plead with an opponent to leave the battlefield unless you are worried about what his presence on that battlefield means.”
According to the APC group, Yari’s appointment had altered the political calculations of opposition politicians, particularly in the North-West, where the former Zamfara State governor is said to have built a broad political network.
The group described Yari as a former two-term governor, former Chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum and serving senator with extensive political experience and grassroots connections.
“President Bola Ahmed Tinubu did not appoint Senator Yari to decorate a campaign list,” it said, arguing that his experience positioned him to organise and mobilise support across political and regional boundaries.
The group further accused Kwankwaso of political inconsistency for questioning Yari’s decision while relying on his alliance with Peter Obi to expand his political relevance beyond his traditional political base.
“Senator Kwankwaso is free to ride on Peter Obi’s national profile in search of a wider audience. What he cannot do is pretend that Senator Yari requires lectures from him on how to make political decisions,” it said.
The APC group maintained that Yari did not need to be introduced to the national political scene, saying his political record and network spoke for themselves.
It said his appointment reflected the confidence of President Tinubu and the APC leadership in his ability to coordinate the ruling party’s presidential campaign across the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory.
The group also argued that Kwankwaso’s reaction had inadvertently demonstrated the importance of Yari’s new role.
“If Senator Yari were politically inconsequential, Kwankwaso would have ignored his appointment. Instead, before the campaign has even properly begun, he is publicly asking the APC Campaign Director-General to resign,” it said.
“That tells Nigerians far more about the significance of Yari’s appointment than anything we could possibly say.”
The group urged Yari to disregard what it described as unsolicited advice from political opponents and concentrate on his campaign responsibilities.
“Kwankwaso should save his advice for his own campaign. Senator Abdul’aziz Yari has an assignment, and by the grace of God, he will deliver it,” the statement added.
