BREAKING: Farouk Aliyu Accuses El-Rufai of Selfish Agenda As CPC Chiefs Reaffirm Loyalty To Tinubu
A former Minority Leader of the House of Representatives, Farouk Aliyu, on Wednesday accused ex-Governor of Kaduna state, Nasir el-Rufai of self-centredness, especially in his recent attacks on President Bola Tinubu.
Speaking on national television, Aliyu maintained that the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), a block within the All Progressives Congress (APC), has intention of pulling out of the ruling party, contrary to insinuations in the public space.
The attack on el-Rufai came as a former Governor of Katsina state, Aminu Masari; ex-Governor of Nasarawa state, Senator Tanko Al-Makura and 21 other foundation members of the defunct CPC on Wednesday declared their support for the president.
In the same vein, Deputy President of the Senate, Jibrin Barau, on Wednesday said that Tinubu was laying a solid foundation for the country’s prosperity, urging Nigerians to support the president in his quest to address the challenges facing the nation.
But Aliyu, speaking publicly on el-Rufai’s recent activities, especially his incessant verbal attacks on the current administration, noted that the former Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) was fighting a personal war, arguing that it wasn’t true that the CPC group was leaving the APC.
“It’s not true. Simple. There’s nothing like members of the defunct CPC wanting to move out of APC. Look, the certificate of CPC was part of what formed APC. So how can we leave? To go to where? It’s our party. APC is our party.
“ I’m aware of the fact that the former governor of Kaduna state, who was one of us, went alone (to meet Muhammadu Buhari) in the first instance, to tell the former president that he was going to leave. According to him, that’s what he said.
“And he gave an insinuation as if the former president had endorsed him leaving the party. The next day, the former president came out with a statement that, look, I’m a bona fide member of APC. I’ll continue to be a member of APC. I’m with President Bola Tinubu. So, as regards to el-Rufai, that’s it.
“He has left, which is alright. How many people have left with him? So far, he’s the only person that we know that has left. Of course eI-Rufai will be identified as majorly Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). In Nigeria today, nobody will see el-Rufai through the prism of a CPC man,” Aliyu maintained.
He stated that it was ironic that it was the same el-Rufai that was insulting northern elders when Tinubu wanted to become president that has now turned around to oppose the same government he helped institute, because he was promised a ministerial appointment, which never came to fruition.
“ All of a sudden, now, Tinubu is a bad man. So, that’s why I said the elites of this country, the masses need to understand that we, at the level of elites, we are one and the same. So, to me, it’s just about him. If he had been a minister, he would have been in the forefront of insulting the northern leaders again for Tinubu,” Aliyu argued.
Aliyu pointed out that Tinubu is not a bad person, but that he has been painted in that light because the promise of a ministerial appointment to el-Rufai failed. He urged the former governor to see his not becoming a minister as an act of God.
“As a Muslim, he should try to be content. He should know that what God wills will happen…It’s an elite fight. So, the masses need to understand that we are among the elites, we don’t kill ourselves, we don’t insult each other,” he explained.
He advised el-Rufai not to bring down the roof, having been governor for eight years under the APC, insisting that the north will not allow it.
“He should not bring down the roof because he has just lost out. He has been a governor for eight years, he should not talk about hell. Whatever happened has happened,” the former legislator posited.
Also, former CPC members in a statement issued expressed their support for Tinubu, saying recent ‘misleading narratives’ suggesting defection or discontent among CPC stakeholders were baseless.
“We, the undersigned leaders and dedicated members of the former CPC, instrumental in the historic merger that birthed the APC, issue this statement to reaffirm our unwavering loyalty to our great party and express our strong solidarity with the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
“Recent misleading narratives suggesting defection or discontent among CPC stakeholders are baseless, mischievous, and should be disregarded. We remain a vital part of the APC, fully committed to its leadership and vision.
“We categorically state that we have neither left the APC nor do we intend to leave. The CPC bloc remains one of the APC’s foundational pillars, and we are resolute in our commitment to the party and its progressive ideals,” the group stated.
It noted that as a legacy party within the APC, they took pride in the sacrifices made to build a platform that fosters national unity, justice, and development, maintaining that they would not allow individuals to dismantle the party they helped build through years of tireless dedication.
According to the former CPC stalwarts, attempts to sow disunity within the party and the country does not reflect the will or position of genuine CPC core members and are wholly unacceptable.
They stressed that they fully endorsed the economic and governance reforms led by Tinubu, adding that while these policies might present challenges, they are crucial steps toward rebuilding the economy and securing a prosperous future for all Nigerians.
However, they acknowledged that some members might feel sidelined, but such concerns are not unique to any one bloc and urged those affected to seek redress through established constitutional channels within the party, rather than resorting to negative public agitation or hasty exits.
Other members of the CPC block are: Mallam Adamu Adamu, Senator Ibrahim Musa, Senator Mustafa Salihu, Hon. Farouk Aliyu, Hon. Almajiri Geidam, Waziri Bulama, Dr. Nasiru Argungu, Dr. Dominic Alancha, Hon. Ayuba Balami, Mr. Osita Okechukwu, Okoi Obono-Obla, Hon. Lucy Ajayi, Captain Bala Jibrin.
Others are: Hon. Uche Ufearoh, Yusuf Salihu, Hon. Abubakar Maikudi, Mutallib Badmus, Muhammed Datti, Hon. Muhammed Etsu, Jerry Johnson and Alkali Ajikolo.
Meanwhile, Deputy President of the Senate, Barau, has said that Tinubu is laying a solid foundation for the country’s prosperity. He urged Nigerians to support the president in his quest to address the challenges facing the country.
Barau stated this in a statement by his Media Adviser, Ismail Mudashir.
He said: “By May 29, it will be exactly two years since President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration came on board in the country. Yes, we are not there, and we cannot be in the promised land in less than 23 months when the numerous challenges facing our beloved country have weighed us down for decades.
“A journey has started – the road is rough, but it’s for the restoration of our country’s glorious days. It is not easy to rebuild a shattered building. In the past decades, all spheres of our country – power, road infrastructure, agriculture, education, health, water, housing, and others – have been begging for genuine attention.
“This is coupled with the fact that this government came on board at the time that the entire world economy was and is still quite turbulent due to the high cost of basic goods and services all over the world arising from Russia-Ukraine, and Israel-Palestine wars. Nigeria is certainly not an exception.
“The good news is that the president is genuinely committed to addressing these challenges. Fresh air is already permeating all the country’s spheres, nooks and crannies to the admiration of lovers and good people, irrespective of differences and persuasions,” he said.
Barau, who is the First Deputy Speaker of the ECOWAS Parliament, said that since the present administration was inaugurated on May 29, 2023, Tinubu has left no stone unturned in addressing the country’s challenges.
He added: “The direction is clear, and the foundation is correctly and solidly laid for our country’s transformation and prosperity. For instance, admirable success has been recorded in the area of security. Hundreds of terrorists have been neutralised in the North West geopolitical zone.
“Yes, there are pockets of cases of kidnapping and attacks, but they are minimal compared to before the coming of this administration. The instances of incessant kidnapping on the Abuja/Kaduna Road have become history.
“In the South-east, the activities of unknown gunmen terrorising the region have been on the downward side. In the North East, Boko Haram was almost completely eradicated until the recent attacks in some parts of Borno State.
“I am confident that our gallant members of the Armed Forces will act decisively to smoke them out permanently.
“The people of the remaining five states in the North East live peacefully and conduct their lawful businesses – commendation to our gallant officers and men of the Armed Forces and other sister security agencies.
“With the enhanced peace across the country, the federal government has recently launched phase one of the Special Agro-Industrial Processing Zone (SAPZ) to revolutionise and industrialise the agricultural sector. SAPZ aims to transform Nigeria’s agriculture landscape through innovation, private-sector investments and strategic public partnerships.
“The zones are designed to create agro-industrial hubs that integrate farmers with processors, reduce post-harvest losses and expand rural economic opportunities.
“Seven states, namely Kaduna, Kano, Kwara, Oyo, Ogun, Imo, Cross River, and Federal Capital Territory, have been selected for phase one, while Bauchi, Borno, and Gombe are listed for phase 2.”
He expressed optimism that the establishment of the North-West, North Central, South-East, South-West, and South-South development commissions will significantly contribute to developing the country’s regions.
“With President Tinubu’s establishment of the development commissions, we will witness unprecedented development at the grassroots level. Also, the Abuja-Kaduna-Kano highway reconstruction, which dragged on for eight years under the last administration, has been flagged-off and is receiving the needed attention,” he said.
On education, the Deputy President of the Senate described the introduction of the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) by the present administration as unprecedented. He said that thousands of students across the country have benefitted so far, and their parents or guardians have been relieved of the stress of school fees payment.
He recalled that when President Tinubu took over, the economy was in terrible shape in all spheres.
Barau continued: “President Tinubu has been working genuinely to correct the fiscal misalignments. He has attracted foreign direct investments worth billions of dollars, paid the forex backlog and cleared the ways and means of the trillion Naira he inherited from the last administration.
“To this end, I urge all to give maximum support to the government to continue with these people-oriented and pro-masses initiatives conceived to take our country to the El Dorado. The Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, His Excellency Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, has laid the foundation for Nigeria’s prosperity.
“Let’s support him. We have no other country than the Federal Republic of Nigeria. We are by the grace of God on the path to prosperity.”
