Farouk Aliyu, a close ally of former President Muhammadu Buhari, has dismissed insinuations that the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) bloc of the All Progressives Congress (APC) is leaving the ruling party.
Aliyu, who identified himself as one of the members of Buhari’s cabal, said the CPC bloc within the APC won’t dump the party for any reason.
“It’s not true; there is nothing like members of the defunct CPC wants to move out of APC,” the APC chieftain said on Channels Television’s Politics Today programme on Wednesday.
“Our certificate, the certificate of CPC, was part of what formed APC. So, how can we leave? To go where? This is our party.”
Aliyu, a former Minority Leader of the House of Representatives, said Buhari did not endorse former Kaduna governor Nasir El-Rufai’s defection from the APC to the Social Democratic Party (SDP). He said El-Rufai should not bring down the roof because he did not get a ministerial appointment.
READ ALSO: 2027 Election Between APC And Nigerians — PDP’s Makinde
FILES: Tinubu receives the Baton of Change from Buhari on Thursday, May 25, 2023
Aliyu, however, urged the APC leadership to engage all blocs within the ruling party to whittle competition and strife before the next poll.
“Politics is about engagement. Politics is about the interests of groups, people, and so on. That is what we are saying: engage more; not only with people from the defunct CPC, but even from the PDP. So that in 2027, there will be less competition,” the Jigawa powerbroker said.
Aliyu said the APC won’t “just sit by and allow” the Atiku Abubakar-led coalition “to take over the government”. “They are strange bedfellows,” he said, adding that the selection of a presidential candidate would thwart the Atiku coalition.
Farouk Aliyu, a close ally of former President Muhammadu Buhari, has dismissed insinuations that the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) bloc of the All Progressives Congress (APC) is leaving the ruling party.
Aliyu, who identified himself as one of the members of Buhari’s cabal, said the CPC bloc within the APC won’t dump the party for any reason.
“It’s not true; there is nothing like members of the defunct CPC wants to move out of APC,” the APC chieftain said on Channels Television’s Politics Today programme on Wednesday.
“Our certificate, the certificate of CPC, was part of what formed APC. So, how can we leave? To go where? This is our party.”
Aliyu, a former Minority Leader of the House of Representatives, said Buhari did not endorse former Kaduna governor Nasir El-Rufai’s defection from the APC to the Social Democratic Party (SDP). He said El-Rufai should not bring down the roof because he did not get a ministerial appointment.
READ ALSO: 2027 Election Between APC And Nigerians — PDP’s Makinde
FILES: Tinubu receives the Baton of Change from Buhari on Thursday, May 25, 2023
Aliyu, however, urged the APC leadership to engage all blocs within the ruling party to whittle competition and strife before the next poll.
“Politics is about engagement. Politics is about the interests of groups, people, and so on. That is what we are saying: engage more; not only with people from the defunct CPC, but even from the PDP. So that in 2027, there will be less competition,” the Jigawa powerbroker said.
Aliyu said the APC won’t “just sit by and allow” the Atiku Abubakar-led coalition “to take over the government”. “They are strange bedfellows,” he said, adding that the selection of a presidential candidate would thwart the Atiku coalition.
Ahead of the 2027 general elections, a former lawmaker, Honourable Farouk Aliyu, says President Bola Tinubu is the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Aliyu, a former Minority Leader of the House of Representatives, stated this during an interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today.
“In our own party, we have our candidate in the President. There is no qualm about it. We know our candidate and will work for him by the grace of God”, he stated.
Ministerial Appointment
He also weighed in on the recent resignation of Nasir El-Rufai from the ruling APC, recalling how the former Kaduna State governor galvanised support for President Bola Tinubu in 2023.
Aliyu explained that El-Rufai, once a close ally of President Tinubu and a key figure in the APC’s electoral victories in 2015, 2019 and 2023, led his then northern governors to secure Tinubu’s electoral victory.
“My friend Nasir El-Rufai came out when Bola Tinubu wanted to be President. He led the governors of the North, he insulted everybody.
” He said he would go with Tinubu so all of us went with Tinubu. Tinubu won the election, he was promised ministerial election, something happened and he didn’t get it, “he stated.
El-Rufai: Tinubu’s Ally-Turned-Outsider
El-Rufai was one of the northern powerbrokers who insisted that the APC presidential ticket for the 2023 general elections be given to a southern candidate in line with the unwritten principle of rotation of power between the southern and the northern regions in Nigeria. This was after the eight-year tenure of President Muhammadu Buhari, from the North-West geopolitical zone.
El-Rufai, who was Kaduna governor between May 2015 and May 2023, was vocal in his choice of ex-Lagos governor Bola Tinubu as the flag bearer of the party in the last general elections.
The then Kaduna governor, alongside his northern colleagues, backed Tinubu against two other northern juggernauts who were also aspirants – – then Senate President Ahmad Lawan and ex-Jigawa governor, Mohammed Badaru.
Tinubu later clinched the APC ticket and was elected Nigeria’s president during the February 2023 presidential poll.
In Nigeria’s political turf where compensation politics has become almost a norm, Tinubu nominated El-Rufai as one of his ministers three months after his inauguration.
However, El-Rufai fell out with the movers and shakers in the current government and was rejected by the Senate during the ministerial screening process. The upper legislative chamber cited security reasons from the Department of State Services as one of the reasons for his rejection.
El-Rufai, once a close ally of President Tinubu and a key figure in the APC’s electoral victories in 2015, 2019 and 2023, now presents himself as one of the fiercest critics of the administration, alleging that what the APC has become is a far cry from what its founders envisioned.
Since the August 2023 incident, El-Rufai has not been seen in a gathering of APC chieftains. The former governor has also not been seen around the Aso Villa, the seat of power, or near the president whom he vigorously campaigned for in the last poll.
Conversely, El-Rufai was previously spotted with SDP chieftains fuelling defection rumours, which he initially dismissed before the final admission on Monday, March 10, 2025.
Ahead of the 2027 general elections, a former lawmaker, Honourable Farouk Aliyu, says President Bola Tinubu is the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Aliyu, a former Minority Leader of the House of Representatives, stated this during an interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today.
“In our own party, we have our candidate in the President. There is no qualm about it. We know our candidate and will work for him by the grace of God,” he stated.
Ministerial Appointment
He also weighed in on the recent resignation of Nasir El-Rufai from the ruling APC, recalling how the former Kaduna State governor galvanised support for President Bola Tinubu in 2023.
Aliyu explained that El-Rufai, once a close ally of President Tinubu and a key figure in the APC’s electoral victories in 2015, 2019 and 2023, led his then northern governors to secure Tinubu’s electoral victory.
“My friend Nasir El-Rufai came out when Bola Tinubu wanted to be President. He led the governors of the North, he insulted everybody.
“He said he would go with Tinubu so all of us went with Tinubu. Tinubu won the election, he was promised ministerial election, something happened and he didn’t get it,” he stated.
El-Rufai: Tinubu’s Ally-Turned-Outsider
El-Rufai was one of the northern powerbrokers who insisted that the APC presidential ticket for the 2023 general elections be given to a southern candidate in line with the unwritten principle of rotation of power between the southern and the northern regions in Nigeria. This was after the eight-year tenure of President Muhammadu Buhari, from the North-West geopolitical zone.
El-Rufai, who was Kaduna governor between May 2015 and May 2023, was vocal in his choice of ex-Lagos governor Bola Tinubu as the flag bearer of the party in the last general elections.
The then Kaduna governor, alongside his northern colleagues, backed Tinubu against two other northern juggernauts who were also aspirants – – then Senate President Ahmad Lawan and ex-Jigawa governor, Mohammed Badaru.
Tinubu later clinched the APC ticket and was elected Nigeria’s president during the February 2023 presidential poll.
In Nigeria’s political turf where compensation politics has become almost a norm, Tinubu nominated El-Rufai as one of his ministers three months after his inauguration.
However, El-Rufai fell out with the movers and shakers in the current government and was rejected by the Senate during the ministerial screening process. The upper legislative chamber cited security reasons from the Department of State Services as one of the reasons for his rejection.
El-Rufai, once a close ally of President Tinubu and a key figure in the APC’s electoral victories in 2015, 2019 and 2023, now presents himself as one of the fiercest critics of the administration, alleging that what the APC has become is a far cry from what its founders envisioned.
Since the August 2023 incident, El-Rufai has not been seen in a gathering of APC chieftains. The former governor has also not been seen around the Aso Villa, the seat of power, or near the president whom he vigorously campaigned for in the last poll.
Conversely, El-Rufai was previously spotted with SDP chieftains fuelling defection rumours, which he initially dismissed before the final admission on Monday, March 10, 2025.
The Former Minister of Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, has called on youths to reject agents of division and exclusion, and focus on shared values in an era increasingly defined by identity politics.
Fashola stated this while speaking at the Lagos Leadership Summit 2025 on Wednesday, organised by the Lateef Jakande Leadership Academy, themed: “Transformative Leadership: Development-Responsive, Adaptive and Inclusive Models”.
The former Lagos State governor, who spoke on the topic: “The Inclusion Imperative: Why No One Wins When Leadership Leaves People Behind”, emphasised the importance of unity and inclusiveness.
READ ALSO: Tinubu Inaugurates National Census Committee, Gives Three-Week Deadline For Report
He noted that the 1999 Nigerian Constitution already contains strong provisions that promote national cohesion and inclusion.
He stressed the need for leaders across all levels to collaborate in giving practical meaning to the constitutional imperatives.
According to him, true leadership lies in ensuring that no one is left behind, regardless of ethnic, religious or political affiliations.
The chief host of the event, Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, in his address, reiterated his administration’s dedication to good governance and pledged to use creative leadership, culture and the THEMES PLUS Agenda for the benefit of the people as well as the society in a bid to achieve the aims and vision of moving Lagos forward.
Governor Sanwo-Olu, who spoke on the topic: “From Leadership to Legacy: Designing Systems That Work Without You”, said he had been lucky to take forward the aggressive leadership of past leaders and had been able to innovate, urging people to get good education and do well in whatever assignment and level they find themselves.
The Executive Secretary of the Lateef Jakande Leadership Academy, Ayisat Agbaje-Okunade said Governor Sanwo-Olu had the vision of Lateef Jakande leadership academy and the academy had graduated 60 fellows and 30 others underway.
Officers of the Katsina State Police Command have arrested two suspected car thieves and rejected one million naira bribe offered to them by the suspects.
They also recovered a suspected stolen motor vehicle, a cash sum of ₦1,000,000, three mobile phones, one power bank and a bunch of keys from the suspects as exhibits.
The police spokesman, DSP Abubakar Sadiq, disclosed this in a statement on Wednesday.
He said that on April 11th, 2025, at about 1500 hrs, while on a routine patrol along Birnin Kuka village, Mashi LGA, Katsina State, officers attached to Border Patrol Zone 4, Katsina, flagged down a Toyota Corolla LE, green colour, driven by one (1) Mubarak Kabir, m, age 26, and (2) Adamu Hashim, m, age 27, all of Kurna quarters, Fagge LGA, Kano State.
READ ALSO: Gov Mutfwang Bans Night Grazing In Plateau, Restricts Motorcycles
According to him, a preliminary investigation revealed that the said vehicle was reportedly stolen from FCT Abuja.
“The suspects then offered a bribe of one million naira (₦1,000,000) in cash to the patrol team with a view to evading justice, which the officers sternly rejected. Suspects are in custody,” he stated.
“Furthermore, the suspected stolen motor vehicle, cash sum of ₦1,000,000, three (3) mobile phones, one power bank and a bunch of keys were recovered from the suspects as exhibits.
“Investigations are ongoing to unravel the extent of the suspects’ involvement in criminal activities. Further developments will be communicated as the investigation proceeds.”
The State Commissioner of Police, Bello Shehu, commended the officers’ commitment to upholding the law and exhibiting a high level of integrity.
