The All Progressives Congress (APC) has alleged that former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and ex-Kaduna State Governor Nasir el-Rufai pose a threat to the peace, unity, and progress of Nigeria.
This accusation comes amid growing political tension, with the APC claiming that both men are conspiring to hijack the African Democratic Congress (ADC) in a bid to undermine the country’s established power rotation principle.
In a statement issued on Monday, APC National Publicity Secretary, Felix Morka, said their alleged actions are part of a broader plan to install Atiku as the next presidential candidate despite it being the South’s turn to lead.
“It is now clear to all Nigerians that el-Rufai and his cohorts in ADC are on a mission to upend the presidential rotational principle designed to promote national unity and cohesion in the country through the imposition of Atiku as presidential candidate of ADC in the middle of a southern presidency turn,” Morka stated.
He blamed Atiku’s actions during the 2023 Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) primaries for the party’s collapse in that election cycle.
“It was Atiku’s selfish and obdurate refusal to respect the rotation principle during the 2023 Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential primary election that directly resulted in PDP’s ‘virtual cremation’,” Morka said.
The statement was in response to el-Rufai’s recent remarks at a meeting in Sokoto, where he criticized the Tinubu administration as being “incompetent, clannish, and undeserving of a second term.” APC dismissed el-Rufai’s comments, describing him as a disgruntled figure lashing out.
The ruling party defended Tinubu’s government as visionary and committed to national transformation.
It emphasized that the Renewed Hope Agenda had begun repositioning the country for long-term growth and development and expressed confidence that Nigerians would renew their support for Tinubu in 2027.
Meanwhile, the Presidency also took issue with Peter Obi’s recent one-term pledge.
The Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, criticised the Labour Party (LP) presidential candidate for what he called historical inaccuracies in justifying his vow.
“Peter Obi, the aspiring presidential candidate of the fledgling opposition party, must have flunked history in school,” Onanuga said in a statement titled ‘Peter Obi and His Wrong Examples’.
Obi had earlier promised to serve only four years if elected, referencing the leadership of Abraham Lincoln, John F. Kennedy, and Nelson Mandela to support his claim.
But Onanuga pushed back “In justifying his so-called ‘sacrosanct’ pledge to serve only one term of four years, he cited Abraham Lincoln, JFK and Nelson Mandela as leaders he wanted to emulate.
A simple fact-check by a politician, who always challenges his gullible and unthinking mob to verify his statements, would have revealed that he quoted the wrong examples.”
Onanuga elaborated further “Lincoln had already won re-election and was in his second term when he was assassinated in 1865, while JFK was killed before completing his first term.”
As for Mandela: “Mandela served as the first President of South Africa from 1994 to 1999. He declined a run for a second term on account of his age… Mandela’s example might be more appropriately recommended to Obi’s rival for the opposition ticket, who will turn 81 by 2027.”
