The leadership of the All Progressives Congress (APC)-led by its national chairman, Abdullahi Ganduje, has met with the immediate past President Muhammadu Buhari, at his residence in Kaduna.

This came barely 24 hours after former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and the immediate past Kaduna state governor, Nasir El-Rufai, led other opposition leaders to meet the former president at his residence.

Atiku and El-Rufai have been at the forefront of sacking President Bola Tinubu in the 2027 election. The two politicians have announced that there has been talk among opposition leaders and expressed their determination to sack the president in the next general poll.

They made the revelation following the defection of El-Rufai from the APC to the Social Democratic Party (SDP). The former governor alleged that President Tinubu and the APC have deviated from the party's promises to Nigerians.

On Friday, April 11, Atiku, El-Rufai, former governor of Sokoto state, and other opposition leaders visited Buhari at his residence, saying it was a courtesy visit extended to the former president for Salah greeting.

Atiku's visit to Buhari came days after the APC governors-led by the chairman of the Progressive Governors Forum and governor of Imo state, Hope Uzodimma, also visited the former president for the Sallah visit.

APC governors begged Buhari to stop defection

However, sources privy to the details of their meeting disclosed that the governors have pleaded with Buhari to stop the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) from dumping the APC for the SDP.

According to the sources, the APC governors particularly wanted the former president to stop two of his ex-ministers, Chukwuemeka Nwajiuba and Abubakar Malami, from dumping the ruling party.

Malami and Nwajiuba served as minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of State for Education, respectively, under Buhari. The two former ministers were said to be among the CPC bloc who were angry with Tinubu's style of leadership in the APC.

Amid this controversy, former president Buhari has become a rallying point between the CPC and the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), the top two political parties that formed the ruling APC ahead of the 2015 general election.

The APC National Working Committee (NWC) led by the Party’s National Chairman, Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, CON, visited former President Muhammadu Buhari @MBuhari, GCFR, at his residence in Kaduna. pic.twitter.com/JO8udLgKDS

— APC Nigeria (@OfficialAPCNg) April 11, 2025