Former Minority Leader of the House of Representatives, Farouk Aliyu, has vowed that the All Progressives Congress (APC) will take every necessary step to prevent the opposition from gaining ground ahead of the 2027 general elections.

Aliyu stated that there are individuals working to ensure President Bola Tinubu does not secure re-election, but assured that the ruling party and its supporters will resist such efforts.

According to him, the APC is determined to render opposition parties, including those aligned with the African Democratic Congress (ADC), politically ineffective.

“That’s what we did together, all of us. So certain people are, you know, going out after some script to make sure APC does not see the light of day, or Tinubu does not win his election. Sadly, we will not allow that to happen because that’s politics.”

Speaking during an interview on Arise News, the former lawmaker emphasized that while the ruling party respects the role of the opposition in a democracy, it will do all it can to limit their political visibility.

“You see, I was the leader of the minority in the House of Reps. I was in the opposition. And when we were in the opposition, back from 2003 when I won election, that time, we opposed the government of the day, and we opposed constructively.

“We made sure we put them on their toes. So if, in the course of that, anybody… look, there is no democracy without opposition, we have no problem with anybody trying to oppose us, absolutely no.

“In fact, look, we don’t want to be left just to ourselves because the country does not belong to APC. This country belongs to all of us. And those in the opposition are respected Nigerians. We respect them, we respect their opinion, but politically speaking, we shall do everything possible to make sure they don’t wear their heads.

“And I mean it, because, look, that’s politics. If, in the course of this political thing, whatever happens politically speaking, we don’t want insults, abuses and so on, because the elites are one and the same.”

Aliyu highlighted the close relationships among political elites regardless of party affiliations, noting that the real division often exists only among the general population.

“We used to be one family, one party, one people. You remember when all those people in, I mean, out of the APC now, we all ganged up to bring down Goodluck Jonathan. That’s what happened.”

“You know, the Honorable Farouk Adamu Aliyu will never be fighting Honorable Emeka Nwajuba and so on.”

He also admitted that the elite are largely responsible for Nigeria’s political challenges, while the masses suffer the consequences.

“The elites are the people giving the country the major problems, adding that down below, the masses will kill themselves because of us. Absolutely.

“You see at the down level, the masses still have not understood that at the level of elites, there is no Muslim or Christian. At the level of elite, we are not enemies.”

Former Minister of Communications, Adebayo Shittu, and former Nigerian Ambassador to the Philippines, Dr. Yemi Farounbi, have both raised concerns over speculations that Senator Rabiu Kwankwaso might replace Vice President Kashim Shettima as President Bola Tinubu’s running mate in the 2027 general elections.

The two elder statesmen, speaking separately to The Guardian in Ibadan, reacted to growing reports that the National Leader of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) may be brought into the All Progressives Congress (APC) to run on a joint ticket with Tinubu.

Both men described such a move as potentially dangerous, warning of political and electoral consequences, especially in Nigeria’s Northeast region.

According to Shittu, bringing Kwankwaso into the APC should be for support, not replacement.

“His coming to the APC is to support our president. He should not come to replace anyone. It will be dangerous to replace Rabiu Kwankwaso with Shettima. It will affect our votes in the North East. Kwankwaso can be supported to become President in 2031, not to replace Shettima.”

Farounbi, meanwhile, expressed concern over the implications of working with someone like Kwankwaso, whom he described as politically ambitious and unlikely to take a subordinate role.

“Shettima is more controllable than Kwankwaso. Kwankwaso will not take a back seat in terms of governance, because he has presidential ambitions. Shettima is far better for Tinubu than Kwankwaso. I will say it is dangerous to replace Shettima with Kwankwaso,” the former ambassador stated.

The remarks come amid ongoing internal political alignments ahead of the 2027 general election, with Tinubu’s party exploring strategies to retain power.

However, both commentators believe that any decision to alter the current power dynamic within the presidency could carry unintended consequences.

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has confirmed that the Labour Party (LP) will not be participating in the upcoming Edo State National Assembly by-election, slated for next week.

The by-election will be held to fill vacancies in the Edo Central Senatorial District and the Ovia Federal Constituency, following the elevation of Senator Monday Okpebholo and Hon. Dennis Idahosa to Governor and Deputy Governor, respectively.

Speaking at a press briefing in Benin City, the Edo State Resident Electoral Commissioner, Prof. Anugbum Onuoha, revealed that nine political parties had successfully submitted candidates for the polls.

These include:

Action Alliance (AA)

African Democratic Congress (ADC)

All Progressives Congress (APC)

Allied Peoples Movement (APM)

Action Peoples Party (APP)

Action Democratic Party (ADP)

New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP)

Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)

Zenith Labour Party (ZLP)

While the Labour Party had announced Paul Okojie as its candidate for the Edo Central seat, Prof. Onuoha clarified that the party failed to comply with procedural requirements.

“From our records, the Labour Party and others didn’t invite us for their primaries,” he said.

He added that INEC did not monitor any LP primary because the party failed to notify the commission of its intention to participate.

“Some others invited us, but we got there, and their doors were locked. We could not find anyone,” he noted.

Despite the controversy, the INEC commissioner assured the public of the commission’s readiness to conduct a transparent and hitch-free election.

“The Bimodal Voters Accreditation System (BVAS) has been configured, while non-sensitive materials have been deployed,” he said.

Prof. Onuoha also disclosed that 101,617 Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) remain uncollected in the areas where the by-election will take place, out of a total 719,504 registered voters across the seven local government areas involved.

Responding to calls from the PDP for his redeployment, Onuoha stood firm and appealed for media support in maintaining electoral integrity.

“Even if you bring your brother to INEC, he can’t compromise elections because of the way the commission is structured,” he stated.