Twenty-one governors of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) have met with former President Muhammadu Buhari in Kaduna and begged him not to dump President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the party that made him president ahead of the 2027 elections.
LEADERSHIP gathered that the APC governors met former President Buhari in his newly remodelled Kaduna residence in a closed-door meeting where they begged him not to support the opposition coalition championed by former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, former governors Nasir El-Rufai and Peter Obi, among others.
One of the sources told our correspondent: “The meeting of APC governors was basically to plead and beg former President Muhammadu Buhari to support the re-election of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in 2027. You know the opposition coalition is gathering momentum, and many former President Buhari’s allies are heading to the coalition to challenge Tinubu’s second-term ambition.”
Recall that former Kaduna state governor Malam Nasir El-Rufai, one of Buhari’s closest allies, had revealed that he got the blessing and prayers of ex-President Buhari before his defection from the All Progressives Congress, APC, to Social Democratic Party, SDP.
However, speaking with journalists after the meeting, Chairman of the APC Governors’ Forum and Imo State Governor Hope Uzodimma described Buhari as a father in politics.
“We came to pay former President Muhammadu Buhari a courtesy visit. You know former President Muhammadu Buhari is the only former president produced by the APC.
“We came and saw him in good health. We fraternised with him, stayed with him and are ready to return to our various businesses.
“We met with him, and he was pleased with our party. He expressed surprise at our visit. We are happy and thankful to Almighty God because we met him in good health. He is our father in politics. He is well pleased with our party and all of us, his children. He is well pleased with our visit.”
Describing the APC as the biggest party in Africa, he said its members would continue to work hard to make it stronger.
For his part, Kaduna State Governor Uba Sani commended former President Muhammadu Buhari for supporting President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the APC.
“We are here along with other APC governors to visit former President Muhammadu Buhari. We are happy the way former President Buhari is supporting our party and President Bola Ahmed Tinubu,” Sani said.
The APC governors were said to have pleaded with former President Muhammadu Buhari not to allow the Congress for Progressives Change (CPC) elements within the APC to leave the party and join the coalition movement.
A source told LEADERSHIP that the governors, at their meeting with Buhari, appealed to him not to abandon President Tinubu.
They recalled how Tinubu supported Buhari for the eight years.
It was further learnt that the governors resolved to facilitate a meeting between the CPC elements and President Tinubu to assuage their concerns.
LEADERSHIP recalls that former Kaduna State governor Nasir El-Rufai revealed that he cleared with Buhari before he joined the Social Democratic Party (SDP), but Buhari has since dismissed insinuations that he would dump the APC for the SDP.
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