From Noah Ebije, Kaduna

Barely 24 hours after former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, Malam Nasir El-Rufai, Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, and others visited former President Muhammadu Buhari at his Kaduna residence, APC National Chairman Alhaji Abdullahi Umar Ganduje arrived with party leaders for a Sallah homage.

Addressing reporters after the meeting, Ganduje dismissed Atiku’s group as “strange-bird fellows who cannot fuse together.”

He expressed confidence in APC’s strength, predicting victories in the 2027 presidential and governorship elections.

“We are here to pay Sallah homage to the former President and also we took time to explain to him the achievements of our great party as he left it, because we have promised to be briefing him from time to time,” he said.

“Concerning the group that came to see him, that is not our business. But, I must tell them that history is about to repeat itself; they have a joint venture which will not work. This is because they are just some kind of particles that cannot come together.”

Ganduje added, “Well, it’s a game, but we will not reveal our own intrigues and game plan, but I can tell you we are equal to the task.”

He credited President Tinubu’s progress for bolstering APC’s position, stating, “Though we have 21 APC states now, I can tell you we are eyeing some more states to come to our fold, either the governors themselves will come or we go into election and we defeat them.”

On allegations of skewed appointments under Tinubu, Ganduje said, “We are coming up with the true figures of the appointments to show Nigerians that Mr President is not engaged in skewed appointments.”

Ganduje highlighted APC’s new campaign approach, inaugurating councils in states rather than Abuja for better local engagement. “This innovation has helped to engage the right people to organise and manage campaigns in their states for effective delivery before and during the election,” he said.

He noted recent victories in Imo, Kogi, Edo, and Ondo, but a loss in Bayelsa, with focus now on Anambra and Osun. “In compliance with the time-table released by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the Party successfully conducted primary elections in Anambra on April 5th, 2025,” he added.

He listed prominent defectors to APC, including former Senate President Anyim Pius Anyim, former Labour Party candidate Edwin Nkwegu, Senators Uche Ekwunife, Obinna Ogba, and others. “Most recently, Senator Ned Nwoko representing Delta North also joined us,” he said.

Ganduje praised Buhari’s loyalty, referencing his recent statement: “He remains an APC member, and would like to be addressed as such.”

He assured continued consultation, saying, “We are indeed happy with the way and manner in which you led the Party to victory during the 2023 General Elections.” He also commended the relationship between Buhari and Tinubu, adding, “We hope that you will always open your doors to us, whenever we knock in search of wise counsel.”