Abdul ‘Aziz Yari stands out to become Senate president

Ahead of the race to elect a Senate President and Chairman of Nigeria’s 10th National Assembly, Alhaji Abdul’aziz Abubakar Yari has indicated his interest in the nation’s number three job. The ambition of the former Zamfara State governor is being driven by his patriotic zeal and utter conviction of being the best man for the job.

Although the national leadership of the All Progressives Congress (APC) may have zoned the Senate presidency to the South-South geopolitical zone of the country, Yari still reserves the right as a democrat and Nigerian to put his popularity to test in a democratic arrangement. He is very much convinced that competence should not be sacrificed on the altar of mere political exigencies. He also believes that the senators-elect should be allowed to elect their own president irrespective of other extraneous political considerations.

The 55-year-old former chairman of the Nigerian Governor’s Forum (NGF) has since appointed billionaire businessman and senator-elect for Ondo South Senatorial District, Barrister (Dr) Jimoh Ibrahim, as his Campaign Director-General. The ambition of Alhaji Yari to become the next president of the Nigerian Senate is daily gaining more acceptance as close to 70 senators-elect have pledged their support for his ambition.

Aside from anti-democratic considerations that may have been deliberately put in place to derail the aspiration of Abdul’Aziz Yari, he possesses the necessary qualities to become the next Senate President of Nigeria. He is definitely very bold, courageous and independent-minded enough to ensure a very effective and efficient Senate in the 10th National Assembly. He is a very intelligent person and also a party man that will ensure robust relationship between the executive and the legislature.

Alhaji Yari obviously has the leadership acumen and charisma to guarantee a united and proactive Senate of the 10th National Assembly. He evidently has an enviable track record of being a team player and pragmatic leader. It is, therefore, guaranteed that Yari is certain to bring all his great qualities to fruitful use when saddled with the affairs of the Senate.

The erstwhile NGF chairman is thoroughly experienced in politics as he earlier served as the state chairman of the ANPP and was once the member that represented Anka/Talata Mafara Federal Constituency from 2007 to 2011. Out of the deep conviction of his capacity to deliver, Yari on April 26, 2011 contested the governorship seat of Zamfara State against his father in-law and won. He was again re-elected in 2015 as Zamfara State governor on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

Meanwhile, the very evident leadership qualities of Alhaji Yari made his governor colleagues to unanimously elect him as the chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum on May 18, 2015. As expected, Yari never disappointed his colleagues and the Nigerian nation when he held sway as the NGF chairman.

While serving as the NGF chairman, Abdul’Aziz Yari worked so assiduously to endear the Governors’ Forum to the Presidency. This much was achieved by Yari during the time of former President Muhammadu Buhari. Also, during his NGF leadership, Nigeria was declared polio-free by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the nation’s name was struck off the list of at-risk countries for the epidemic. More so, during his time as NGF chairman, the forum effectively became a policy hub and a clearing house for governors with regard to their engagement with development partners within Nigeria and across the globe.

True to character, Yari as NGF chairman provided a level playing field for all governors irrespective of the political parties they belonged. He, indeed, ensured that all committee work, visitations and assignments of the NGF were shared equally among the governors.

It is also on record that the former Zamfara governor leveraged his NGF chairmanship to unite all the governors. He effectively reintegrated all the governors from the opposition parties that hitherto felt like fishes that were out of water. He further leveraged his robust relationship with former President Muhammadu Buhari to secure financial soft-landing for all states of the federation.

Yari likewise performed exceedingly well as a two-term governor of Zamfara State. The evident sterling performance was one of the reasons that informed the unanimous choice of Abdul’Aziz Yari as the NGF chairman.

It is an incontrovertible fact that Alhaji Yari contributed in no mean measures to put Zamfara State on a true and sustainable path of development. Remarkably, the achievements of Yari as the 4th Governor of Zamfara State will continue to speak for itself. Unprecedented achievements of Yari as Zamfara Governor were hinged on the tripod of his anti-corruption stance, infrastructure development and security.

Records show that Abdul’Aziz Yari was not indebted in the payment of salaries to civil servants throughout his eight-year tenure as Zamfara Governor. He was also known throughout his tenure for his strong aversion to corruption. The displayed acumen by Yari in the management of the finances of Zamfara State during his administration was also worthy of commendation.

He did fulfill his open commitment to transparency and accountability with the initiation of stern measures that helped to curb financial wastage in government. One of the adopted measures was the introduction of the e-payment salary system. The system effectively ensured a seamless salary payment for the highly committed and hardworking workforce of Zamfara State.

Above all, the administration of Yari was largely known for fiscal prudence and deliberate efforts geared towards economic empowerment of the good people of Zamfara State.

The eight-year administration of Abdulaziz Yari embarked on the development of critical infrastructures in Zamfara State. A good number of people-oriented projects embarked upon and completed across the 14 local government areas of the state evidently improved the living standard of the Zamfarans. Notably, former Governor Yari delivered remarkable flagship projects in road construction, provision of potable water, rural electrification and other essential infrastructure that were highly needed by the good people of Zamfara State.

Despite the security challenges of Zamfara State, Alhaji Abdul’Aziz Yari gave his all to curtail the monster of insecurity. He ensured that the people freely went about their daily activities with the steady beefing up of the state’s security architecture. This much was achieved by Yari with the constant provision of sufficient logistic support to the Nigeria Police and other law enforcement agencies in the state.

Meanwhile, the Public Administration graduate suffered a political setback in 2019 when his landslide victory as the senator-elect for Zamfara West Senatorial District was nullified by the Supreme Court. The nullification was hinged on the grounds that all APC candidates in the 2019 general election in Zamfara State were not validly nominated through party primaries.

However, the APC leader in Zamfara State overcame this temporary setback in February 2023 when he got elected yet again to represent the good people of Zamfara West Senatorial District. As things stand, Abdul’Aziz Yari is prepared to bring his wealth of experience in piloting the affairs of the Senate if eventually elected as the first amongst the equals.