Senator Abdulaziz Yari said the APC presidential campaign would concentrate on issues and the administration's record rather than personal attacks on opponents. He spoke in Gusau after a closed-door meeting with Governor Dauda Lawal, traditional rulers and party stakeholders.
Senator Yari sought the traditional rulers' counsel and prayers as the council prepared for campaign activities.
Consultation with traditional institutions
Lawal said the meeting introduced Senator Yari to the traditional rulers following his appointment as Director-General of the Presidential Campaign Council. The governor linked the engagement to peaceful participation and cooperation before, during and after the election.
The participants' expressions of confidence in electoral support were political statements. They were not election results or an independent measure of public opinion.
The meeting in Gusau
The Gusau engagement brought Senator Yari together with Governor Dauda Lawal, traditional rulers and party stakeholders. The meeting itself was closed to the public, while the account of its purpose and the subsequent remarks provide the basis for understanding the occasion. This distinction matters: a public report can explain what participants said about the meeting without inventing a detailed account of every exchange inside the room. The central reported themes were the introduction of Senator Yari following his Council appointment, the search for counsel and prayers, and an approach to the campaign focused on issues rather than personal attacks.
Introducing the Council assignment
Governor Lawal described the engagement as an introduction of Senator Yari to the traditional rulers following his appointment as Director-General. That gives the meeting a clear organisational purpose. A new national assignment creates a reason to explain responsibilities and maintain contact with institutions whose relationships are rooted in communities. The Council directory provides further context about published campaign appointments. The Gusau account records one setting in which the Director-General’s role was discussed, placing the engagement within the presidential campaign organisation rather than within a separate constituency or personal programme.
What an issue-based approach means for readers
A focus on issues directs political discussion towards policies, public services, performance and the concerns people experience in daily life. Readers can ask practical questions: which programme is being discussed, who is responsible for it, and how does it relate to a community’s needs? This approach makes room for scrutiny as well as support. The administration achievements pages provide a route into individual projects and reforms, while programme guides explain selected opportunities. These resources complement the reported remarks by giving the public subjects to examine beyond the language of a campaign speech.
Keeping disagreement respectful
The commitment to avoid personal attacks concerns how political disagreement is expressed. Citizens can hold different views about government policy or a candidate’s record without treating one another as enemies. An issue-based discussion allows those differences to be examined through questions, explanation and debate. That standard is relevant to leaders speaking at meetings and to people sharing campaign material in everyday conversation. The Gusau engagement placed this expectation of conduct within the Council’s preparations. It records a stated approach against which the tone and substance of later public communication can be considered.
The role of traditional institutions
Seeking counsel and prayers from traditional rulers brings the campaign into contact with institutions whose place in community life extends beyond party activity. Respectful consultation recognises that wider role. A meeting can provide an opportunity for advice and introduction without becoming a statement of every individual’s political preference. Governor Lawal’s emphasis on peaceful participation before, during and after the election belongs to this broader concern for public conduct. The report presents the institutional engagement on those terms and avoids treating the attendance of traditional leaders as a substitute for the choices of citizens.
Political confidence and the electoral process
Participants may express confidence in the support they expect a campaign to receive. Such statements are part of political communication, but they are different from election results or a measured account of public opinion. Readers should be able to recognise that distinction when following campaign news. The platform’s election intelligence section provides a separate route into candidates, contests and polling-unit geography. The Gusau article records a consultation and the remarks associated with it. It does not turn expectations expressed during the engagement into a claim about an electoral outcome.
Following further consultations
The Council’s news collection includes other engagements with traditional and religious institutions, each with its own location and participants. Reading the Gusau report alongside those accounts gives a fuller view of the organisation’s national contact with communities. The campaign listing and galleries offer additional ways to explore published activity. The particular contribution of this meeting is its focus on the Director-General’s introduction and the conduct of the campaign: counsel from traditional leaders, peaceful participation and discussion centred on the administration’s record and the public issues facing Nigerians. It also gives readers a clear point of comparison when following later campaign statements: whether the discussion remains focused on programmes, responsibilities and the practical concerns of communities.