In June 2023, Senator Abdulaziz Yari lost the vote for Senate President to Godswill Akpabio by 63 votes to 46. He had insisted on contesting against the APC’s zoned candidate, and reports say the Department of State Services (DSS) detained him in July 2023 and questioned him about election spending. Now Yari, a former Zamfara State governor who represents Zamfara West, is back in the conversation.
Yari is Director-General of President Bola Tinubu’s 2027 campaign council. Akpabio and Deputy Senate President Barau Jibrin serve on the same council as deputy directors-general.
To circle back, there are a few things working for and against Yari, starting with how he is a two-term former governor and a former chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum, and is Geregu Power’s Chairman. Supporters say he has a wide network across the northern political bloc. Reports describe him as one of the north’s wealthiest politicians, so to that record of money-spending, his camp says all of it was legally earned.
It helps to know that while he led the governors’ forum, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) raided his properties, froze accounts, and investigated him over N84 billion in shared funds. His supporters call the attacks smear campaigns by rivals who fear his stature.
Regional balance also counts against him. In 2023, the party zoned the presidency to the South-south and the deputy post to the North-west. But Yari is from the North-west, as is Barau. Tinubu’s closeness is an asset, but senators tend to vote for their own leaders. And those senators seem to have spoken.
On October 15, 2026, serving senators declared the presidency of the 11th Senate not vacant and vowed to return Akpabio and Barau unopposed. Senate Chief Whip Tahir Monguno said the post would not be open to contest.
In any case, the 11th Senate is due to be inaugurated in June 2027, months after the January general election. The next thing to watch is how many sitting senators win re-election.