2027: El-Rufai, Malami can’t speak for us, defunct CPC NASS members

…Back Al-makura, declare for Tinubu

Forum of elected members of the 7th National Assembly under the defunct Congress of Progressive Change (CPC) has rejected former governor of Kaduna state, Nasir El-Rufai and former Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami SAN, saying the duo have no locus to speak for the former legacy party.

The group, comprising of notable former elected politicians, declared their support for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu ahead of 2027 general elections,, even as they also declared recognition of former Nasarawa governor Tanko Al-makura as their true leader.

Addressing a press conference Wednesday in Abuja, Chairman of the Forum, Hon. Nasiru Baballe Ila said the group remain committed to the ideals and values that led to the formation of the ruling party with total support for the President Tinubu administration.

Senator Ibrahim Musa, Hon. Ibrahim Gobir, Hon. Sanusi Aliyu, Mohammed Tukur, (Katsina Central) Senator Ahmed Sani, Hon. Ibrahim Chachangi, Hon. Yusuf Bala, Hon. Garuba Datti, the 7th Assembly Caucus Leader, and now APC National Vice Chairman (North-west).

The forum specifically discribed the former Attorney General and the former Kaduna State governor as lightweights with negative balance in terms of political value.

Ila said: “It has come to our attention that certain individuals, groups and entities who had no electoral value during the heyday of the CPC have falsely claimed to speak for or represent the CPC, purporting to act on behalf of its legacy and its millions of supporters.

“We categorically declare that no person, group of persons, or entity has the authority to speak for or on behalf of the defunct CPC, except the elected representatives of the party who were duly chosen by its supporters in 2011.

“We, the former elected Members of the CPC from the 7th Assembly and many more who stood for elections, won and were subsequently robbed of their hard. earned, hard-won, yet short-lived victories, remain the only legitimate and authentic voice of the defunct CPC.

“We are the true custodians of the party’s legacy and the representatives entatives of the twelve million Nigerians, predominantly in Northern Nigeria, who entrusted us with their mandate.”

The forum called on all Nigerians, particularly the supporters of the CPC in Northern Nigeria and beyond, to disregard any unauthorized statements, actions, or representations made in the name of the CPC.

The forum urged the media, civil society, and the general public to verify the authenticity of any claims related to the defunct CPC, adding only the elected Members of the 7th Assembly and the former Govemor of Nasarawa State, Sen. Tanko Al-Makura, as the legitimate representatives of the defunct party’s legacy.

Responding to questions, Hon. Aliyu Gedi, said though the group has been marginalized but they won’t throw away baby with bath water.

Gedi said: “However, it does not negate the fact that we are bonafide members of the APC. But political parties are supposed to nurture those who invested in them, but we still have a situation where we have usurpers, interlopers, and criminals jumping in through the window.

“I will not sit down here and said we are okay with the government. It has never been my nature. It is not the nature of the CPC. Certainly, it is not the nature or in our DNA to shy away from the truth.

“President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is doing right in a lot of things, but there are still room to improve. There’s still room for correction.”