North Central won’t go into alliance with North-East, North-West – APC forum
The North Central Forum of the ruling All Progressives Congress has declared that the zone would not go into alliance with the North-East and the North-West ahead of the 2027 general election.
The position of the forum came after the former Governor of Kaduna State, Nasir El-Rufai, at an event in Abuja, urged opposition parties to unite and form a broad coalition to challenge the APC in 2027.
In a statement on Saturday signed by its Chairman, Saleh Zazzaga, the APC Forum said the North Central would not be part of any coalition that includes the North-East and the North-West.
The forum said the North-Central does not want a repeat of what happened after it played a major role in the coalition that led to the formation of the APC and the emergence of the government of ex-President Muhammadu Buhari in 2015.
It noted that the North-Central was relegated to the background by the North-East and the North-West during Buhari’s administration, despite playing a major role in the coalition that brought the government.
“The North-Central brought a sitting governor in the coalition. Many of the other zones did not bring anything. Tanko Al-Makura of Nasarawa State in the North-Central was the only sitting governor who actively participated in forming the APC.
“But it is unfortunate that after he became President, Buhari did not even consider that when we asked for the position of Speaker and the position was taken to Lagos.
“During Buhari’s government, the North-Central suffered most – we were denied infrastructure, our roads were not attended to, and the high level of insecurity in the region was not addressed.
“Instead, the North-East and the North-West concentrated all the benefits in their zones. Federal appointments, which many Nigerians believed favoured the North, only went to the two zones. The North-Central was left out,” the statement said.
The forum said the request by the North Central Elders Forum for the zone to be given the chance to produce the Speaker of the House of Representatives in 2019 was rejected by the the APC leadership.
Distancing the North-Central from the coalition, the forum said, “Whatever Atiku Abubakar and Mallam Nasir El-Rufai are doing is for their own benefit, not even in the interest of the North-East and North-West.
“Nigerians should also bear in mind that all these politicians who are attacking President Bola Tinubu today are just frustrated individuals who are angry that they are not part of the government. They will be singing a different song if they are part of the government.
“We restate our position that no magic would make President Bola Tinubu lose his bid for reelection in 2027 – not even the alliance and coalition of these political leaders. We are confident that Nigerians will once again choose the APC government in the next election because of the good performance of President Bola Tinubu’s administration.
“However, the North-Central APC Forum wishes to make it clear that the North-Central zone will not be part of any coalition with the North-East and the North-West.
“It is very imperative that we make this point because we have observed that the planned coalition is being championed by politicians from these two zones – His Excellency Alhaji Atiku Abubakar from the North-East and Mallam Nasir El-Rufai from the North-West.”
