Former Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Dr. Abubakar Malami, SAN, has dismissed the recent claims made by Senator Umaru Tanko Al-Makura’s group regarding the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) bloc of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and its alleged support for President Bola Tinubu’s 2027 re-election bid. Malami strongly refuted the assertion that the CPC bloc had unanimously endorsed Tinubu and ruled out defection.
Speaking through his media aide, Muhammed Bello Doka, Malami pointed out that only the CPC bloc itself could make decisions about its future within the APC. He specifically challenged the validity of Al-Makura’s group to speak for the entire CPC, which was originally the political platform of former President Muhammadu Buhari.
“When you say CPC bloc, one needs to know who they are referring to. Is it the likes of Senator Umaru Tanko Al-Makura, Adamu Adamu, Masari and Faruku Adamu Aliyu who, a few months ago, had been throwing Buhari under the bus, in desperate attempts to gain relevance that should decide for the bloc?” Malami queried. He further described the group’s actions as personal and motivated by their own desire for political relevance, rather than representing the views of the entire CPC bloc.
Malami’s statement comes in response to a recent communique issued by Al-Makura’s group, which included former governors and ex-ministers, asserting their support for President Tinubu and his policies. The communique, which was signed by Al-Makura and 20 other former CPC leaders, had sought to clarify their loyalty to both the APC and President Tinubu. It stressed that rumors of defections within the CPC were false and misleading.
The group had issued a statement saying: “We, the undersigned leaders and committed members of the former CPC, who were part of those instrumental in the historic merger that gave birth to the APC, hereby issue this statement to clarify our unalloyed loyalty to our great party and express firm solidarity with the administration of President Bola Tinubu.” They further emphasized that any claims of defection were misleading and should be disregarded.
In the same breath, Malami also addressed rumors surrounding his alleged defection to the Social Democratic Party (SDP), noting that such rumors were baseless. He asserted that as a prominent figure in Nigerian politics, he could not make such a move secretly. Malami clarified, “Malami is a prominent figure in Nigeria, therefore, cannot defect to any party in secret; he is still in APC but in broad consultations with different platforms. Until the consultations are over, it is premature to talk about defection or declaration of interest.”
Malami reaffirmed his commitment to active politics and stated that he would announce his future political position at the appropriate time. He also reiterated that he had the right to belong to any political party and contest for any position in his home state of Kebbi.
