2027: Ganduje reacts to Atiku’s meeting with Buhari, reveals next move

Abdullahi Ganduje, National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), has downplayed recent moves by opposition leaders to form a coalition ahead of the 2027 general elections, describing the effort as one that is “doomed to fail.”

Ganduje made the remarks on Friday during a visit to former President Muhammadu Buhari at his residence in Kaduna. The APC National Working Committee (NWC) accompanied Ganduje on the visit, which he said was primarily to celebrate the Sallah holiday and brief the former president on the party’s achievements since he left office.

Addressing journalists after the visit, Ganduje dismissed the earlier meeting between Buhari and a delegation of opposition leaders led by former Vice President Atiku Abubakar.

He said the APC remains unshaken by the meeting and confident in its unity and strategy.

“We are here to pay Sallah greetings to the former president and also took time to explain to him the achievements of our party since he left office,” Ganduje said. “As for the group that visited him earlier, it’s not a concern to us. This is history trying to repeat itself. They want to form a joint venture, but it won’t work. From what we have seen, they are just some participles that cannot come together.”

Ganduje added, “It is a game, and we won’t reveal our technicalities. But we are equal to the task.”

He also addressed criticisms surrounding appointments made by President Bola Tinubu, asserting that claims of regional bias are unfounded. Ganduje revealed that a comprehensive dataset detailing the appointments would soon be published to clarify the issue.

Just hours before the APC NWC’s visit, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar led a delegation of prominent opposition figures—including former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai, former Sokoto Governor Aminu Tambuwal, and former Minister of Communications Isa Pantami—to meet with Buhari at the same location. The high-profile visit intensified speculation about a potential exodus of the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) faction from the APC.

The CPC, founded in 2009 and later merged with three other parties in 2013 to form the APC, has remained a powerful bloc within the ruling party, particularly in Northern Nigeria. Buhari is widely regarded as the spiritual leader of the CPC faction.