••The governor says he is not interested in joining the political coalition being promoted by ex-VP Atiku Abubakar.
Governor Mai Mala Buni of Yobe State has declared he will not join the opposition leaders’ coalition being spearheaded by former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar.
In a statement issued by his Director-General, Press and Media Affairs, Mamman Mohammed, in Damaturu on Saturday, Governor Buni dismissed as false a viral text message alleging he and four other APC governors were planning to defect to the opposition PDP and align with Atiku’s coalition ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Mr. Mohammed characterized the viral message as “baseless fabrications, unwarranted imagination and assumptions” that have no basis in reality.
He emphasized that the author of the text message had no proximity to the governor and therefore could not accurately predict his political movements. “Buni is no ordinary member of APC; he is not just an APC governor. He is APC in all ramifications, with APC flowing in his veins,” he said.
Mr. Mohammed highlighted Governor Buni’s significant contributions to building the APC, including his two terms as National Secretary and his role as National Chairman of the party’s convention committee, making his potential departure from the party a speculative impossibility. “The author and his paymasters must have been interested in Buni’s political sagacity and only wished they would have the likes of the governor. It must be wishful thinking,” he stated.
This declaration comes amidst Atiku Abubakar and former Governor Nasir El-Rufai’s efforts to form a coalition to challenge the ruling APC in the 2027 general election.
The PDP governors, Atiku’s own party members, recently convened in Ibadan, Oyo State, and publicly stated their opposition to participating in any such political partnership. Atiku responded, asserting that the coalition plans would proceed despite the governors’ near-unanimous rejection.
(NAN)
