The North-Central All Progressives Congress, APC, Forum, has saluted a political bloc comprising members of the defunct Congress for Progressives Change, CPC, led by former Nasarawa State Governor, Tanko Al-Makura, for snubbing the coalition against President Bola Tinubu.
The Forum spoke in a statement released on Thursday by its Chairman, Alhaji Saleh Zazzaga, a member of the APC campaign council in the 2023 elections.
The opposition coalition, led by former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, candidate in the 2023 election, is aimed at defeating Tinubu and the APC in 2027.
Former Kaduna State governor, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai, who recently resigned from the APC to join the Social Democratic Party, SDP, is a key member of the coalition. Labour Party, LP, presidential candidate in 2023, Peter Obi, is also said to be part of the group.
Ahead of the 2027 polls, the coalition is currently mobilizing key opposition politicians to form an alliance against Tibubu.
The CPC was among the parties that merged to form the APC. Former President Muhammadu Buhari was the leader of the CPC before it became part of the APC.
There were speculations that the CPC bloc in the APC, led by Al-Makura, would join the coalition against being championed by Atiku and El-Rufai. The speculations gained ground after El-Rufai revealed that he got Buhari’s blessings before leaving the APC for SDP.
The speculations further heightened after Atiku and El-Rufai led other key opposition figures to meet Buhari in Kaduna last week.
However, after a meeting at Al-Makura’s Abuja residence on Wednesday, the CPC bloc distanced themselves from the coalition and reaffirmed their allegiance to the APC and Tinubu.
“We, the undersigned leaders and dedicated members of the former Congress for Progressive Change, instrumental in the historic merger that birthed the All Progressives Congress, issue this statement to reaffirm our unwavering loyalty to our great party and express our strong solidarity with the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR.
“Recent misleading narratives suggesting defection or discontent among CPC stakeholders are baseless, mischievous, and should be disregarded. We remain a vital part of the APC, fully committed to its leadership and vision.
“We categorically state that we have neither left the APC nor do we intend to leave. The CPC bloc remains one of the APC’s foundational pillars, and we are resolute in our commitment to the party and its progressive ideals,” the bloc said in a statement signed by Al-Makura, former Katsina State governor Bello Masari, and 21 others.
Reacting to the development on Thursday, the North-Central APC Forum noted that by shunning the opposition coalition, Al-Makura – from Nasarawa State – has shown that the North-Central is indeed for Tinubu and the APC.
The APC Forum stressed that the development has strengthened its confidence in actualising its pledge to deliver six million votes for Tinubu from the North-Central in the next election.
Parts of the statement said, “The North-Central APC Forum salutes the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) bloc led by former Nasarawa State Governor, Tanko Al-Makura, for snubbing the opposition coalition being formed against President Bola Tinubu and our great party, the All Progressives Congress, APC.
“By this singular act, Tanko Al-Makura has shown that he is a committed, loyal party man who believes strongly in the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Tinubu and the APC. He and his team have demonstrated loyalty to the party and to Mr. President and we wholeheartedly commend them for this exemplary conduct.
“By rejecting the opposition coalition, the Al-Makura-led CPC bloc has sent a message to Nigerians ahead of the 2027 election. The message, which is loud and clear, is that Nigerians should reject any attempt to derail the reforms and good work being done by President Bola Tinubu’s administration to turn the fortunes of the country around.
“The failed politicians who are championing the coalition against Mr. President do not have anything better to offer Nigerians – they do not even have the interests of Nigerians at heart – they are only aggrieved because they lost the last election, and they are not part of President Bola Tinubu’s government.
“Just as the Tanko Al-Makura-led CPC bloc has shown that they are people of integrity and honour by rejecting the coalition, we urge Nigerians to reject the coalition and any other attempt to turn back the progress recorded so far under President Bola Tinubu’s administration.”
Further stressing that the North-Central is solidly behind Tinubu, the APC Forum noted that the zone was the first to endorse the President for another term with a promise to deliver six million votes in 2027.
“With former Nasarawa State Governor Tanko Al-Makura fully on board, the North-Central APC Forum is confident of actualising the promise to deliver six million votes for President Bola Tinubu in 2027.
“The North-Central is indeed for the APC and President Bola Tinubu and this is not surprising when one considers the historical role played by the zone in the formation of the APC,” the statement added.
In February 2013, Nigeria’s three biggest opposition parties at the time – the Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN, the Congress for Progressive Change, CPC, the All Nigeria Peoples Party, ANPP – teamed up with a faction of the All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA, and a camp in the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, to form the APC.
The CPC camp, which was led by Buhari, included Al-Makura, then serving governor of Nasarawa State, from the North-Central.
As at the time of the merger, the North-West zone had only one governor among the parties in the coalition – Zamfara State governor Abdul’aziz Abubakar Yari of the ANPP.
The ACN was led by Tinubu, who later became the national leader of the APC.
The only ACN governor at the time of the merger, Dr. Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti State, left office in October 2014, just over a year after the new party was formed. Although Peter Obi was Anambra State governor on APGA’s platform at the time of the merger, he was not part of the party’s faction that joined the coalition that formed the APC.
The statement noted that the marginalization of the North-Central during Buhari’s administration informed the Forum’s earlier declaration that it would not go into any coalition with the North-East and the North-West ahead of the 2027 election.
Noting that the North-Central was relegated to the background by the North-East and the North-West during Buhari’s administration, despite playing a major role in the coalition that brought the government, the statement added, “The North-Central brought a sitting governor in the coalition. Many of the other zones did not bring anything.
“Tanko Al-Makura of Nasarawa State in the North-Central was the only sitting governor that actively participated in forming the APC.
“But it is unfortunate that after he became President, Buhari did not even consider that when we asked for the position of Speaker and the position was taken to Lagos.
“During Buhari’s government the North-Central suffered most – we were denied infrastructure, our roads were not attended to and the high level ot insecurity in the region was not addressed.
“Instead the North-East and the North-West concentrated all the benefits in their zones. Federal appointments, which many Nigerians believed favoured the North, only went to the two zones. The North-Central was left out.”
Restating its decision to endorse Tinubu for a second term, the APC Forum said the current administration has reversed the marginalization experienced by the North-Central under Buhari, thereby finally giving the zone a sense of belonging, and recognizing its strategic contribution to the formation of the ruling party.
The statement pointed to major infrastructural projects in the North-Central, key appointments and gains recorded in the campaign against insecurity, as benefits being enjoyed by the zone under Tinubu’s administration.