***As Buhari Says he is staying in APC, but can’t interfere with their political choices
By Henry Umoru
ABUJA- FRESH facts are emerging from State governors elected on the platform of the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC who paid a visit to former President Muhammadu Buhari at his Kaduna State residence on Monday.
Led by the Governor of Imo State, Hope Uzodimma, who is the Chairman of the All Progressives Governors Forum, the governors held a closed-door meeting with Buhari where they hailed him for his achievements while in office.
According to the APC governors, former President Buhari’s achievements helped to lay a foundation for future developments in Nigeria.
It was gathered that besides the sallah visit which was on the surface, the reason for the visit was to plead with former President Buhari to prevail on his loyalists from dumping the APC for the Social Democratic Party, SDP.
According to the source, the plea by the governors became imperative against the backdrop of speculations of planned defection to other parties ahead of the 2027 general election, as the defunct Congress for Progressive Change, CPC constitutes the biggest Bloc in the APC with former President Buhari being the rallying point.
The Governors were said to have raised the fear that if this very bloc goes, APC in Nigeria may be doomed.
However, the meeting came amid the defection of some of Buhari’s loyalists from the APC to the SDP.
Recall that first to defect was former Kaduna State governor, Nasir El-Rufai, who claimed to have obtained Buhari’s blessing to dump the APC.
Some former ministers who served in Buhari’s cabinet were said to be perfecting plans to move en masse to the SDP, just as in Buhari’s Katsina home state, some members of the APC have defected to the SDP.
Recall that the CPC was a political party founded in 2009. In February 2013, the party merged with the Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN, the APC and a faction of the All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA to form the present day APC.
The source said that the Governors particularly asked former President Buhari to speak to former Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, SAN and former Minister of State for Education, Hon. Chukwuemeka Nwajiuba not to dump the APC.
A source who was privy to the discussions at the closed door meeting and pleaded anonymity said that the former President seemed to have distanced himself from the issue, stating that individuals like Hon. Chukwuemeka Nwajiuba, and others should decide their own party affiliations and as such he can not interfer with their political choices, as this has remained his trait all through his political life.
It was however gathered that Buhari’s stance has however sparked speculations about potential defections and their implications for APC’s future.
The meeting between the APC governors and Buhari came at a critical time for the party, as it navigates internal challenges and external pressures ahead of the 2027 general election.
The APC has been grappling with internal conflicts, including disagreements over the party’s Presidential candidate selection process.
In 2022, the party’s National Working Committee, NWC adopted indirect primaries for electing its presidential candidate, rejecting the consensus arrangement, which affected the party greatly, especially those from the CPC Bloc, which the former president belonged to before the coming on board of APC on the 6th of February 2013.
The potential defections of key figures like Nwajiuba, Malami, and others could weaken the APC’s position, especially if they decide to join another party hence the quick intervention of the APC governors and their mission to Buhari’s home.
Buhari’s decision to distance himself from the issue may be seen as a reflection of his commitment to allow individuals make their own decisions about their party affiliation, just as it is obvious ious that the APC’s future hangs in the balance as it navigates these internal challenges.
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