The North-Central All Progressives Congress (APC) Forum has publicly challenged Nasarawa State Governor Abdullahi Sule to clarify his political allegiance, urging him to stop “playing a double game” by equivocating between President Bola Tinubu and his opponents.
The forum’s chairman, Saleh Zazzaga, issued a statement on Saturday criticizing Governor Sule’s recent remarks about the defunct Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) bloc’s political direction within the APC.
The CPC, a key party that merged to form the APC, has seen its members courted by an opposition coalition led by former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and ex-Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai. In April, former Nasarawa Governor Tanko Al-Makura led prominent CPC members in pledging loyalty to Tinubu and the APC, rejecting the opposition coalition. However, former Attorney-General Abubakar Malami asserted that only former President Muhammadu Buhari’s faction within the CPC could decide the bloc’s political path.
Governor Sule, at a Lafia reception on May 3, 2025, supported Malami’s view, stating, “There is only one person in this world that can decide for the CPC, and that is our father, Muhammadu Buhari. Nobody speaks for the CPC more than this man. The day he says CPC is with you, then CPC is with you. The day he says CPC is not with you, it is not with you. Because he is the CPC himself. He keeps carrying his 12 million voters along with him everywhere he goes.”
The North-Central APC Forum expressed disappointment, noting that Sule’s comments contradict the earlier allegiance pledge by Al-Makura’s CPC bloc to Tinubu. The forum emphasized that since Al-Makura led key CPC leaders, including former Katsina State Governor Bello Masari, in affirming loyalty to Tinubu, Buhari’s allies have attempted to undermine this endorsement.
The forum urged Governor Sule to “stop playing a double game and declare whether he stands with President Bola Tinubu or with those in the camp of former President Buhari, who we know do not wish the Tinubu administration success.” It highlighted Al-Makura’s unique position as the only governor elected on the CPC platform, pivotal to APC’s formation, as the authoritative voice for the bloc.
Accusing Sule of undermining Tinubu’s administration, the forum questioned his loyalty, citing his lack of support during the APC presidential primaries and opposition to key reforms. It demanded Sule clarify his stance, saying, “If he supports the President, he must stop associating with those working against him and wholeheartedly back the administration.”
The forum criticized Sule’s comments as showing a poor understanding of the CPC’s history and reaffirmed its support for the Al-Makura-led CPC bloc’s loyalty to Tinubu.
It concluded by reiterating commitment to Tinubu’s administration and his 2027 re-election bid, urging all party members to align behind the President for national progress.
