National Vice Chairman (Northwest) of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Garba Muhammad has called on former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and immediate past governor of Kaduna State Nasir El-Rufai to thread the part of caution ahead of the 2027 general election.
While Muhammad called on Atiku to “perish the thought of another presidential contest,” he asked El-Rufai to return to the APC, a party which he once vowed never to exit as one of its founding members.
The APC stalwart, in a statement yesterday, also said that President Bola Tinubu has done a lot for the North, especially in terms of appointments.
The part of his statement on Atiku reads: “As we approach the next general elections, you are at it again. Having sensed that your party, the PDP(Peoples Democratic Party) may not cede the presidential ticket to you, you are now considering joining forces with some aggrieved politicians to form a coalition to challenge President Bola Ahmed Tinubu come 2027.
“For you, Alhaji Atiku, our former Vice President, my freehearted advice is, in your best interest and the interest of Nigerians, you should drop the idea of contesting for president in 2027, by which time you would have already turned 80 years.
“The Wazirin Adamawa, you should rather remain the elder statesman that you currently are. I think you shouldn’t waste your time and resources. At least, you should take your cue from another former Vice President, Arc. Muhammad Namadi Sambo has been operating in the background and remains an elder statesman since he left office in 2015.
“In truth, even if you contest, you have nothing new to offer.’’
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To El-Rufai, Mohammad wrote: “It is on record that you were part of the founding members of the APC. It is rather worrisome that you decided to leave APC at this critical point.
“While still serving as governor in 2022, during one of your media chats, you averred that the moment ‘I leave APC, then I have quit politics altogether.’
“The world knows that it was you who announced that you were not interested in any position in the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu administration. Why should you turn to a critic overnight just because you perceived things were not going your way when you had unfettered access to the leadership of the party and the President?
“As someone who was once close to you, I want to advise you to refrain from using emotions, sentiments, and unsubstantiated claims/allegations in politics.
“I would like to tell you for free that no PDP governor will join the SDP(Social Democratic Party) because their party already has a structure on the ground. Who will leave certainty to uncertainty? You may end up committing political a serious miscalculation.
“Frankly speaking, I think you should reflect deeply. One would expect that as a leading figure who supported the presidency to go to the South in 2023, you would support the zone to finish its eight years before canvassing for the rotation of the position to the North.”