The Kaduna residence of Nigeria’s former President, Muhammadu Buhari is now turning to a mecca for different political interests in Nigeria as the plot for the 2027general elections garners more intensity.
In what appears to be a show of familiarity with the former President, just some hours after the visit by a team of the country’s emerging opposition coalition led by former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, Abdullahi Ganduje, led members of the party’s National Working Committee on a visit to Buhari at his residence in Kaduna State.
The vice President’s delegation included former Governor of Kaduna State, Nasir el-Rufai; former governor of Sokoto, Aminu Tambuwal, former governor of Imo State, Achike Udenwa; former governor of Benue, Gabriel Suswam; former governor of Adamawa, Jibrilla Bindow; former Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, and former Minister of Communications, Isa Pantami.
Recall, while addressing Newsmen after the meeting, El-Rufai who explained that the visit to the former president was not political, enjoined “adversaries” not to lose sleep, insisting that it was for “unity and brotherhood”.
Speaking after the visit, the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, dismissed the prospects of a successful opposition coalition unseating President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in the 2027 general elections.
While describing the alliance as an unserious venture bound to fail, Ganduje reassured party loyalists of the growing strength and unity, despite recent efforts by opposition figures to mobilize ahead of the next presidential poll.
Reacting to the announcement by former Vice President and 2023 presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, regarding the formation of a broad opposition coalition to challenge APC, Ganduje made it clear that the party remains unshaken.
“We are not worried at all. First of all, let me thank you. We are here in order to pay our greetings to the former president and also we took time to explain to him the achievement of our great party as he left it and we promised to be briefing him from time to time.
“This is just a history trying to repeat itself. They want to have a joint venture, which will not work because from what we have seen, there cannot be; there are just some particles that cannot come together, as you can see,” he assured.
In his reaction to the visits, Buhari’s spokesperson, Garba Shehu, in a statement said, “Without referring to any individual, cast of characters, or issues, principles and ideals currently being discussed by Party leaders at various levels, former President Muhammadu Buhari has reiterated what he’s said times without number, that he is a member of the All Progressives Congress (APC), and would like to be addressed as a loyal member of the party.”
