For Abuja Network News
In what observers have described as a quiet political rescue mission cloaked in a Sallah homage, governors elected under the banner of the All Progressives Congress (APC) paid a strategic visit to former President Muhammadu Buhari at his Kaduna residence on Monday, April 8, 2025, appealing to the elder statesman to intervene and halt the hemorrhage threatening to destabilize the ruling party ahead of the 2027 general elections.
The meeting, led by Governor Hope Uzodimma of Imo State, who also chairs the Progressive Governors Forum, was initially reported as a festive Sallah greeting. However, insider sources have confirmed that the governors came bearing political anxieties rather than rams or kola nuts, with one critical plea: that Buhari should prevail on his loyalists—particularly former Minister of Justice and Attorney General, Abubakar Malami (SAN), and former Minister of State for Education, Hon. Chukwuemeka Nwajiuba—not to abandon the APC ship for the rising Social Democratic Party (SDP).
Their concern is not without merit. The defection of former Kaduna Governor Nasir El-Rufai—who reportedly claimed he obtained Buhari’s blessings to leave the APC—sent a shockwave through the party's spine. With Buhari’s political roots in the defunct Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), which merged into the APC in 2013, his loyalists remain a formidable bloc. Their potential exit, especially en masse, could cause a seismic shift in the APC’s political fortunes, possibly spelling doom for a party already battling internal strife.
“The fear is real,” said a source close to the meeting who asked not to be named. “If the CPC bloc, which Buhari leads by moral authority, pulls out of APC, it will be catastrophic. That’s why the governors are pleading for his intervention.”
But Buhari, known for his stoic neutrality and minimalist political interference post-presidency, reportedly refused to be drawn into the fray. The elder statesman, according to sources, maintained that individuals such as Nwajiuba and Malami are at liberty to choose their political affiliations—a stance consistent with his long-held belief in personal conviction over political coercion.
His non-committal response, however principled, has done little to douse the flames of speculation. The former President's position has triggered murmurs within party ranks, with many worried that his silence could be interpreted by defectors as tacit approval.
This latest meeting with Buhari highlights a deeper problem within the APC—a house increasingly divided against itself. The party, which has enjoyed federal dominance since 2015, is now grappling with ideological fractures, leadership tussles, and the fallout of unpopular policy decisions. From the unresolved controversies surrounding its 2022 presidential primaries to growing disenchantment among former CPC loyalists who feel sidelined, the APC's unity is under threat.
As the 2027 elections inch closer, the loss of influential figures such as Malami and Nwajiuba—both long-serving political allies of Buhari—would further embolden the SDP and other opposition forces seeking to capitalize on APC’s apparent disarray.
Buhari’s decision to stay above the political fray may reinforce his legacy as a respecter of democratic choice, but it could also prove costly for the APC. For now, the ruling party’s future remains uncertain, teetering between renewal and rupture, as it navigates the difficult terrain of internal reconciliation and external competition.
Whether the APC governors’ plea to Buhari was too little too late remains to be seen. But one thing is certain—2027 will not be business as usual.