The National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Abdullahi Ganduje, says opposition efforts to form a coalition ahead of the 2027 general elections are “doomed to fail.”
Ganduje made the statement on Friday in Daura, Kaduna State, after he led the APC’s National Working Committee (NWC) on a Sallah visit to former President Muhammadu Buhari.
Reacting to reports of meetings between former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and other top opposition figures, Ganduje said he was not bothered.
He told reporters, “We are not worried at all. This is just history trying to repeat itself. They went on a joint venture which will not work because from what we have seen, there are just some particles that cannot come together.”
He added, “It is a game, and we will not reveal our technicalities on how to handle it, but we assure you, we are equal to the task.”
Ganduje used the opportunity to highlight the APC’s political strength. He said the party currently controls 21 states in Nigeria and remains “the strongest party in West Africa.”
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He said the APC is not only working to keep the states it already controls but is also targeting others.
Ganduje said, “We are eyeing other states that will come into our fold. Either the governors themselves will come, or we go for election and defeat them to increase our tally. We are comfortable, but we are not resting. We shall continue.”
His comments followed a separate visit to Buhari by former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and some top political allies. Atiku was accompanied by former governors Nasir el-Rufai (Kaduna), Aminu Tambuwal (Sokoto), Gabriel Suswam (Benue), Jibrilla Bindow (Adamawa), and Achike Udenwa (Imo).
Speaking after the visit, Atiku said it was only a post-Sallah courtesy visit and had nothing to do with politics.
He told reporters, “There is a plan for the major political parties to come together and form a strong opposition, but it is not part of our visit.”
He also posted about the meeting on social media platform X (formerly Twitter). “Today, I had the opportunity to pay a post-Sallah visit to His Excellency, Muhammadu Buhari… It was a wonderful time with him. As usual, he cracked me up (to the extent that my ribs were hurting) with his peculiar humour,” he wrote.
Former Kaduna State governor Nasir el-Rufai also denied that the meeting was political. “We are here to pay Sallah visit to former President Muhammadu Buhari because I was not around during the Sallah period,” he said.
However, the series of visits to Buhari — including one by APC governors earlier in the week — has led to public speculation about possible political realignments ahead of 2027.
Although the opposition is discussing possible alliances to challenge the APC in future elections, the ruling party appears confident. Under Ganduje’s leadership, the APC is positioning itself to strengthen its base and resist any serious challenge from rivals.
Political observers say the road to 2027 has already begun, and how both the ruling party and the opposition prepare in the coming months could shape the country’s political future.