National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, has dismissed the prospects of a successful opposition coalition unseating President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in the 2027 general elections, describing the alliance as an unserious venture bound to fail.
Ganduje made this statement while speaking to journalists following a courtesy visit to former President Muhammadu Buhari.
He used the occasion to reassure party loyalists of the APC’s growing strength and unity, despite recent efforts by opposition figures to mobilize ahead of the next presidential poll.
His remarks come in the wake of an announcement by former Vice President and 2023 presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, regarding the formation of a broad opposition coalition. Atiku confirmed the alliance during a press briefing held at the Yar’Adua Centre in Abuja, where he represented a group of opposition leaders calling for a united front against the ruling party.
Reacting to the move, Ganduje said the APC remains unshaken. “We are not worried at all. First of all, let me thank you. We are here in order to pay our greetings to the former president and also we took time to explain to him the achievement of our great party as he left it and we promised to be briefing him from time to time,” he stated.
Addressing the recent visit by Atiku and other political figures to former Governor Nasir El-Rufai, Ganduje dismissed the significance of the meeting. “Concerning the group that came to see him (Atiku with a delegation involving former Kaduna governor Nasir El-Rufai), that is not of concern to us.”
He further downplayed the likelihood of any serious threat from the coalition, citing historical precedence and ideological differences among the opposition parties. “This is just a history trying to repeat itself. They want to have a joint venture, which will not work because from what we have seen, there cannot be; there are just some particles that cannot come together, as you can see,” he said.
Reiterating the APC’s confidence ahead of 2027, Ganduje added, “So it’s a game. We’ll not reveal our technicalities; we are comfortable, but we are not resting on our oars. We shall continue. You know it’s politics and we are used to this game. You know the people who have joined the party, especially some bigwigs from other political parties, who came into our party. You cannot talk about the small percentage or even small individuals who left the party.”