Adebayo Accuses APC Campaign DG Yari of Funding Terrorism for Gold Mining and Tinubu Re-election
Port Harcourt / Abuja – August 26, 2026 — Social Democratic Party (SDP) 2027 presidential candidate Prince Adewole Adebayo has levelled explosive allegations against Senator Abdulaziz Yari, the newly appointed Director-General of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential Campaign Council, claiming the former Zamfara governor is financing terrorism in the state to facilitate illegal gold mining and channel the proceeds into funding the APC and President Bola Tinubu’s re-election campaign.
Speaking at the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) Annual General Conference in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Adebayo argued that the persistent insecurity in Zamfara is not merely a security failure but a deliberate strategy.
He said killings and kidnappings displace residents from mineral-rich communities, clearing the way for illegal miners to operate freely.
“How can you say you want to fight terrorism when the terrorists are in the Villa and the terrorists are robbing the government and the terrorists are the ones in Zamfara using terrorism to mine gold and use the gold to fund campaign and become chairman of campaign and you are there you don’t want to recognise that,” Adebayo declared.
Linking Insecurity to Political Funding
The SDP candidate maintained that individuals with alleged links to terrorism remain close to the centres of power and active in politics.
He proposed that any serious anti-terrorism strategy must hold mining operators accountable for violence in their operational areas, insisting that “if you cover the mining cadastral properly, identify miners and let miners know that in any territory where you are operating, you are responsible for any killing there.”
Yari, who governed Zamfara from 2011 to 2019 and later served as senator for Zamfara West, was named Director-General of the APC’s 108-member Presidential Campaign Council for the 2027 elections earlier this week.
President Tinubu chairs the council, with Vice President Kashim Shettima and APC National Chairman Nentawe Yilwatda as vice chairmen, and Imo Governor Hope Uzodimma as secretary.
As of the time of the report, Yari had not publicly responded to Adebayo’s claims.
Political Context and Rising Tensions
Yari’s appointment has already drawn mixed reactions. Opposition figures, including Rabiu Kwankwaso, urged him to reconsider the role, citing the scale of insecurity and hardship in the North-West.
APC stakeholders, meanwhile, have hailed the choice as a recognition of Yari’s political experience and grassroots reach.
Adebayo’s latest broadside adds a sharp new edge to the emerging 2027 contest, framing the campaign leadership itself as part of the insecurity problem rather than the solution.
The allegations, if pursued further, could intensify scrutiny of the links between mining, banditry and political financing in Nigeria’s gold-rich North-West.
For now, the claims remain unproven assertions from a leading opposition voice. Neither the Presidency nor the APC campaign structure has issued an official rebuttal.
The coming weeks may determine whether the allegations fade into the usual campaign rhetoric or trigger formal investigations and political fallout.
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