Zamfara governor to run for Senate in 2019, says he's "going back home"

Zamfara State governor, Abdulaziz Yari, has announced his intention to run for the Senate in the 2019 general elections as his second term as governor comes to an end.

The governor made the announcement while speaking to journalists in Gusau, the state capital, on Monday, September 10, 2018, declaring that he has interest in legislative processes to help his people.

According to the governor, who'll contest to become the representative of Zamfara West Senatorial district, his previous stint as a member of the House of Representatives means he's merely returning home.

He said, "You know, I was from the National Assembly before I become a governor, in fact my colleagues from the National Assembly use to say I am here on sabbatical.

"So, my going to senate is like I am going back home, some people are asking me why I want to go to senate?

"In fact even some people in the Presidency are asking me why I want to go to senate, I told them is just an interest.

"You know National Assembly politics is different from that of executive. I learned a lot from the National Assembly and what I learned there has really assisted me in my administration as governor in the last eight years, especially in the areas of budget process and resources management."

Before he was elected Zamfara State governor in 2011, Yari was a member of the House of Representatives representing Anka/Talata Mafara Federal Constituency from 2007 to 2011.

With his declaration to run for the Senate, the 50-year-old will battle a three-term Senator Ahmad Sani Yerima, a former governor, as representative of Zamfara West in the upper legislative chamber.