The North-Central All Progressives Congress (APC) Forum, has accused the Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, of being responsible for all the things that went wrong during the adminstration of former President Muhammadu Buhari.
The Forum accused Malami of giving Buhari bad advice, adding that Nigerians are no longer interested in hearing from him.
They shared their reservations while reacting to Malami’s submission on the ex-Nasarawa State governor, Tanko Al-Makura’s statement that the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) would not join former Vice President Atiku Abubakar’s coalition.
Malami had countered a statement in which the CPC bloc in the APC, led by Al-Makura, declared its loyalty to President Bola Tinubu.
Malami insisted that the Buhari camp of the CPC bloc, of which he is a part, is the one that can speak on whether or not it is joining the opposition coalition, not Al-Makura’s group.
However, reacting to the former minister’s comments in a statement on Friday, the North-Central APC Forum said Malami lacks the credibility to speak for the CPC bloc.
In a statement signed by its Chairman, Saleh Zazzaga, the Forum stated that Malami is associated with a significant amount of baggage due to his actions during the Buhari administration.
The statement reads in part, “Abubakar Malami is behind the failure of the Buhari government due to the bad advice he offered the former President. Nigerians don’t want to hear from Malami again because they are yet to recover from the effects of the impunities he perpetrated when he served as the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice in Buhari’s government.
“It is public knowledge that Malami was at the centre of most of the things that went wrong during the Buhari administration. He undermined the fight against corruption with his undue influence over the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). He single-handedly imposed Abdulrasheed Bawa as the EFCC chairman. During the period the anti-corruption campaign was derailed as high profile corruption cases were compromised.”
The North-Central APC Forum added that Malami played a major role in ‘obnoxious’ policies of the Buhari government, such as the Naira redesign policy, which resulted in a scarcity of cash across the country, exposing Nigerians to untold hardship.
Similarly, the APC Forum noted that Malami did not support Tinubu in the 2023 election.
The statement added, “It is not a surprise that Malami is leaning towards the opposition coalition – during the last election he and others in former President Muhammadu Buhari’s camp did not support the APC presidential candidate, Bola Tinubu.
“Now that he is not part of the government, as his expectations in the election were not met, he is supporting those who are working against President Tinubu’s administration.
“Nigerians should see the rantings of Malami and his co-travellers for what they are – self-centered politicians who are only out to advance their selfish interests. Like former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and former Kaduna State governor Mallam Nasir El-Rufai, who are leading the said coalition, Malami is angry that he lost out in the 2023 election, and is not part of the present government.”