246
By Myke Agunwa
Hours after the Sen. Tanko Al-Makura-led Congress of Progressive Change (CPC) bloc in the All Progressives Congress (APC) threw their weight behind the re-election of President Bola Tinubu in 2007 and dissociated itself from any merger talks, another faction led by former Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation, Dr. Abubakar Malami, (SAN) said that the former group lacks the capacity to speak for the bloc.
Some members of the defunct CPC had ruled out the possibility of leaving the APC and joining a coalition being championed by former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and his former ally Mallam Nasiru El’Rufai.
It was also learnt the former President Muhammadu Buhari who is the leader of CPC, asked them to feel free to join the coalition or support any candidate of their choice but maintained that he will remain in the APC.
The bloc led by a former governor of Nasarawa State, Umaru Tanko Al-Makura, and 22 others, pledged their loyalty to President Bola Tinubu, and appealed to aggrieved members to seek internal mechanisms of addressing their grievances.
However, the faction led by Malami has dismissed the position of the Al-Makura group, insisting that they do not have the authority to decide for the bloc.
Malami, who spoke through his media aide, Muhammed Doka, said the CPC bloc, which was former President Muhammadu Buhari’s platform, was the only entity that could speak on whether or not it was leaving the APC and not the Al-Makura’s group.
“When you say CPC bloc, one needs to know who they are referring to. Is it the likes of Senator Umaru Tanko Al-Makura, Adamu Adamu, Masari and Faruku Adamu Aliyu who, a few months ago had been throwing Buhari under the bus, in desperate attempts to gain relevance that should decide for the bloc?” Malami queried.
He described their decision as personal, with no connection with CPC bloc, adding that it was for them to gain relevance in the APC for personal benefits.
The CPC is the largest bloc among the coalition that formed the merger in 2015 where Buhari emerged as the candidate of APC with strong support from Tinubu.
This development has created more problems for Tinubu who has been consulting with different blocs in the APC to put them on the same page as he seek a second tenure.