Northern youths allege plot to destabilise APC, stop Tinubu’s re-election

From Fred Ezeh, Abuja

Northern youths under the umbrella of the Arewa Youth Assembly have alleged plots to trigger a crisis capable of affecting the internal structure of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and weakening the chances of President Bola Tinubu securing re-election for a second term.

At a press conference in Abuja on Sunday, the youths claimed that the recent silent crisis within the Progressive Governors Forum (PGF) was part of moves aimed at destabilising the party ahead of the 2027 general elections.

Coordinator of the group, Mohammed Aliyu Sanni, said: “In a replay of the script of what happened in the build-up to the 2015 election, these enemies of Tinubu and Nigeria want to use the PGF to launch their assault on our democracy.

“If you recall, the problem former President Goodluck Jonathan encountered, which cost him the presidency, started with the division within the Governors Forum headed by the then Governor of Rivers State, Rotimi Amaechi.

“Because these renegades could not break or manipulate Governor Hope Uzodimma of Imo State, who is the current PGF chairman, they went for a soft target in Governor Dapo Abiodun of Ogun State to set in motion machinery aimed at stopping Tinubu’s re-election.

“Abiodun not only recruited another soft target, Governor Peter Mbah of Enugu State, to work against his own brother, they also found willing tools among a few governors. They hastily announced the removal of Uzodimma because they saw him as an impediment to their perfidious plot.

“But the majority of governors rallied round their chairman to put down that insurrection. We are also happy that the majority of the governors are from the northern part of the country, which confirms our resolve to honour the rotation agreement by ensuring that President Tinubu completes his two terms before power shifts to the North in 2031.”

He further alleged that there are “moles” within the APC working against President Tinubu over various grievances.

“In short, they want to play the Nyesom Wike card by weakening the internal mechanism of the APC the same way Wike did against the PDP.

“However, we shall not sit idly by and watch them achieve their sinister goal. We use this opportunity to warn them to desist from this plot. We are giving them 48 hours to apologise to President Tinubu, the PGF and its chairman, Senator Hope Uzodimma, and the APC for the ill-advised aborted palace coup, failing which we shall mobilise Nigerian youths against them,” he said.