Yari never called Nigerian youths lazy, group clarifies

The Senator Yari National Unity Project for Tinubu 2027 (SYNUP) has dismissed reports that Senator Abdul’aziz Abubakar Yari described Nigerian youths as lazy, insisting that his remarks at the All Progressives Congress (APC) rally in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, were taken out of context.

The group, in a statement issued on Monday by its National Coordinator, Dr Sani Abdullahi Shinkafi, said Yari never mentioned or singled out Nigerian youths during his remarks at the Godswill Akpabio International Stadium on Friday, November 6.

It accused sections of the media and social media commentators of deliberately distorting the senator’s comments to create the impression that he had insulted Nigerian youths.

According to the statement, Yari spoke about food availability and the cost of living, acknowledging that Nigerians were facing hunger before making his remarks about work and productivity.

The group quoted the senator as saying: “we have hunger.”

It added that Yari subsequently spoke about the availability of food in markets and the ability of industrious Nigerians to 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 statement said.

SYNUP urged Nigerians to watch the full video of the rally rather than rely on what it described as misleading interpretations of the senator’s remarks.

While acknowledging the economic difficulties facing households, the group said Yari’s message was that work, enterprise and productivity remained important pathways out of hardship.

To support its position, SYNUP listed several interventions it attributed to the senator, including scholarship programmes, recruitment facilitation and agricultural support for young people.

It said the Senator Abdul’aziz Yari Scholarship Initiative, launched in 2024 and funded by the former Zamfara State governor, had supported 2,055 orphans and indigent students studying at 19 public and private tertiary institutions across the North-West.

According to the group, the initiative paid N216 million in tuition fees in its first year, provides each beneficiary with a monthly stipend of N15,000 and sponsors the students through graduation.

It also said Yari facilitated the enlistment of 84 young men and women from the six local government areas of Zamfara West into the Nigerian Army’s 86th Regular Recruit Intake, as well as another 74 recruits from the district in the 87th intake.

The group further cited his support for farmers through the distribution of fertilisers, agrochemicals and farm tools, as well as the recruitment of 1,000 NCE-qualified teachers announced by his administration in Zamfara State in 2017.

It added that Yari provided food items and clothing to 10,000 orphans across the state during Ramadan and Sallah in 2024.

“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 statement said.

Yari, who served as Zamfara State governor between 2011 and 2019, was appointed Director-General of the Tinubu/Shettima 2027 Presidential Campaign Council by President Bola Tinubu in August 2026.

The group described the appointment as a recognition of his political experience, citing his previous membership of the House of Representatives, two terms as governor, chairmanship of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum between 2015 and 2019 and current position as Chairman of the Senate Committee on Water Resources.

It said the campaign council had commenced its mobilisation through town hall meetings and consultations with religious and traditional institutions.

SYNUP reaffirmed its confidence in Yari’s leadership and directed its national, zonal and state officers to intensify grassroots mobilisation ahead of the January 16, 2027 presidential election.

The group also urged Nigerian youths to judge political leaders by their records rather than what it described as propaganda.

“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,” the statement added.