The North-Central All Progressives Congress, APC, Forum, has knocked a former Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, for countering ex-Nasarawa State governor, Tanko Al-Makura’s position that a political bloc comprising members of the defunct Congress for Progressives Change, CPC, would not join the coalition being formed by former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar.

Malami, who served as the AGF and justice minister during former President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration, had countered a statement in which the CPC bloc in the APC, led by Al-Makura, declared its loyalty to President Bola Tinubu.

In a statement by his media aide, Muhammed Bello Doka, Malami insisted that the Buhari camp of the CPC bloc, which he is part of, is the one that could speak on whether or not it is joining the opposition coalition and not Al-Makura’s group.

However, reacting to the former minister’s comments in a statement on Friday, the North-Central APC Forum said Malami lacks the credibility to speak for the CPC bloc.

The North-Central APC Forum had earlier hailed the Al-Makura-led CPC bloc for rejecting the opposition coalition.

In the statement signed by its Chairman, Alhaji Saleh Zazzaga, a member of the APC campaign council in the 2023 election, the Forum said Nigerians are not interested in Malami’s opinion, noting that he is associated with a lot of baggage due to his actions during the Buhari administration.

According to the Forum, Malami’s antecedents disqualify him from speaking on behalf of any credible association. The APC Forum equally stressed that Malami played a central role in several cases of impunity recorded during the Buhari administration.

“Abubakar Malami is behind the failure of the Buhari government due to the bad advice he offered the former President. Nigerians don’t want to hear from Malami again because they are yet to recover from the effects of the impunities he perpetrated when he served as the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice in Buhari’s government.

“It is public knowledge that Malami was at the centre of most of the things that went wrong during the Buhari administration. He undermined the fight against corruption with his undue influence over the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). He single-handedly imposed Abdulrasheed Bawa as the EFCC chairman. During the period the anti-corruption campaign was derailed as high profile corruption cases were compromised,” the statement said.

The North-Central APC Forum added that Malami played a major role in ‘obnoxious’ policies of the Buhari government, such as the Naira redesign policy which resulted in a scarcity of cash across the country, exposing Nigerians to untold hardship.

In the same vein, the APC Forum noted that Malami did not support Tinubu in the 2023 election.

Although Malami has dismissed speculations that he is set to defect to the SDP – following in the footsteps of El-Rufai – the APC stakeholders said he is working with those opposed to Tinubu’s administration.

The statement added, “It is not a surprise that Malami is leaning towards the opposition coalition – during the last election he and others in former President Muhammadu Buhari’s camp did not support the APC presidential candidate, Bola Tinubu.

“Now that he is not part of the government, as his expectations in the election were not met, he is supporting those who are working against President Tinubu’s administration.

“Nigerians should see the rantings of Malami and his co-travellers for what they are – self-centered politicians who are only out to advance their selfish interests. Like former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and former Kaduna State governor Mallam Nasir El-Rufai, who are leading the said coalition, Malami is angry that he lost out in the 2023 election, and is not part of the present government.”

The Forum noted that Tinubu does not need Malami and those he represents to win in 2027.

“We should not forget that President Bola Tinubu still won the 2023 election even though APC lost in Kebbi State. We know for a fact that Malami and his people worked against Tibubu in the election, so we are not surprised at what he is doing now,” the APC Forum noted.

Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, candidate Atiku Abubakar won in Kebbi during the 2023 election. APC got 248,088 votes in Kebbi while PDP received 285,175.

The APC Forum added that the former AGF and minister of justice cannot be compared to Al-Makura, who they described as widely accepted politician whose integrity remains intact.

“Former Governor Tanko Al-Makura has remained a committed progressive with integrity, and it did not come as a surprise when he led like-minded personalities to distance the CPC bloc from the gang of self-serving politicians masquerading as opposition coalition,” the statement said.

Further insisting that Malami cannot speak for the CPC bloc, the APC Forum noted that unlike Al-Makura, Malami did not play a major role during talks between the CPC and other parties that preceded the formation of the APC.

“Tanko Al-Makura, as governor of Nasarawa State, was the only CPC governor at that time and he was a key player in the merger talks, unlike Malami. Even former President could not produce a governor for CPC in his state, Katsina.

“It is obvious that Malami cannot stand with Al-Makura on issues concerning the CPC bloc. We advise Malami to work on his battered image as Nigerians have not forgotten how he and his associates mishandled the country for eight years,” the Forum said.