The family of the popular Nigerian Afrobeat singer, Ahmed Ololade, also known as Asake, has pleaded with him to take responsibility for his ailing father, Fatai Odunsi, and alleged daughter, Zeenat.

Naija News reports that in a viral video, Odunsi said he was suffering from a stroke and appealed to Nigerians for financial assistance.

Odunsi claimed that Asake had abandoned him, stating that the last time they saw each other was in March 2022, when his illness began.

In a video via his social media page on Friday, Asake said one cannot please the world while addressing the situation through a Yoruba song.

The singer claimed his father was attempting to manipulate him despite his past generosity.

In a video which made rounds online on Saturday, March 15, 2025, the family, speaking through a female representative, urged Asake to buy a house worth ₦40 or ₦50 million for his ailing father.

The family also claimed Asake abandoned his alleged 11-year-old daughter, Zeenat, adding that her mother has agreed to a DNA test.

The family said, “I’m begging you, Asake; you’ll grow old one day, so please take care of your father. Asake needs to come and do what is required. Even if Nigerians contributed N10 billion to Mr Odunsi, Asake’s N1 million would make him happier than he is today. The Quran says we will reap whatever we sow in this life. Ololade, Mr Money, we want you to continue growing, and God will keep blessing you. May God also help you to support your father.

“I won’t go into your mother’s issue, but you must do the right thing and care for your father. In Isale Eko, you can find a house worth N40 million or N50 million. You could buy one for your father so he can live off the rent if you don’t want to provide for him directly.

“If you don’t want to take care of him, at least buy a house worth N50 million in his name, and he will survive on the rent. He’s not asking for much.

“Also, if you are in doubt about Zeenat, the mother has agreed to a DNA test.”

Mallam Nasir El-Rufai may have emerged as the Disrupter-in-Chief in the plot to stop a second term for President Bola Tinubu in 2027.

 
Just two days after defecting from the All Progressives Congress, APC, to the Social Democratic Party, SDP, the former Kaduna State governor was already, according to analysts, fully acting his new role.

Last Wednesday, supporters of El-Rufai stormed the Abuja National Headquarters of the SDP with placards, calling for the exit of Dr Olu Agunloye as National Secretary.

The protesters, who carried placards, accused Agunloye of fraud. Agunloye is being tried in court over an alleged $6b fraud relating to the Mambilla power project.

The shocking sight of the new party members turned protesters forced Agunloye to petition the Inspector General of Police for police protection.

However, Sunday Vanguard reports that the demand for Agunloye’s exit appears to be mainly championed by some allies of El-Rufai who fear that the SDP’s National Secretary’s past links to Tinubu and, if not, ethnic identity would hinder the political goal of stopping the president from a second term.

“The El-Rufai people feel that it would be illogical to have somebody from the South-West hold that critical position of National Secretary when you are fighting against the second term quest of somebody from the South-West,” a source privy to the development said.

Plan B

The fight within the SDP following the entry of El-Rufai only reflects the fears of many over the prospects of the opposition against Tinubu who mounted the presidency in 2023 despite the challenges he got from within the Muhammadu Buhari presidency and the majority of the party’s governors.

Besides the suspicions around Agunloye, political actors are also raising suspicions that Tinubu may have gone ahead of El-Rufai into the SDP.

 
That claim, according to some political watchers in Abuja, flows from the fact that the SDP has been mentioned as the famous Plan B that Tinubu hoped to fall back to had he not won the APC presidential ticket in 2022.

Sunday Vanguard reports that in the approach to the APC presidential convention in 2022 that there were unverified reports that Tinubu was considering using the SDP platform to actualise his ambition following the perceived threats he was getting at that time from agents of the Buhari regime.

However, whatever his actions in the SDP, stakeholders believe that the party may not be the last bus-stop for El-Rufai and his collaborators in the plot to stop Tinubu’s second term.

2022 incitement
The falling out with Tinubu despite his yeo-man role in rallying northern governors to back Tinubu at the last minute is generally perceived as a payback by Tinubu’s associates following his previous engagements incitements prior to 2022.

The former governor had, in 2019, boasted of how he defeated godfathers in Kaduna and urged Tinubu’s foes in Lagos to do the same.

 
Turning point

However, the turning point in their relationship was just before the 2022 presidential primary when El-Rufai pulled away from the plots against Tinubu to back the former Lagos State governor as the APC candidate.

That decision, according to many, was based on real politics.

He knew that Tinubu was about the only one with the financial muscle in the South to wrest the presidency and he quickly jumped on board.

Tinubu appreciated El-Rufai’s gesture and publicly begged him to play a role in his government.

The former governor was said to have jettisoned his plans to proceed abroad for further studies to head the new government’s energy team.

 
However, the plan unfolded when the Senate refused to clear him based on a “security issue”.

A Senate source told Sunday Vanguard that contrary to claims that there was a security report against El-Rufai, nothing of such was produced.

A senator, speaking on the condition of anonymity, told Sunday Vanguard: “What we were told by Senate President Akpabio was that there was a security issue with El-Rufai from the Department of State Service, DSS, but he did not circulate the report”.

That was, however, an unconventional route as many recall that in the past that DSS reports on nominees were circulated among senators. The case of Mr Ibrahim Magu, a nominee for the office of the Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, who was repeatedly refused clearance by the Senate in part based on contradictory security reports from the DSS, was cited.

The allegation that Tinubu didn’t want El-Rufai in his government, despite the nomination, is something that has rubbed off negatively on the former governor.

 
He is also concerned by the insinuation of a security question around him and it was gathered that El-Rufai may go to court to force Akpabio to produce the security report.

A source in the opposition privy to the ongoing developments confirmed that El-Rufai is not contesting any elective position in 2027, but is focused on mobilising against the Tinubu second term agenda.

“What he is interested in is sending Tinubu and his people back to Lagos,” one prominent associate of former VP Atiku Abubakar who contested the 2023 presidential election but lost to Tinubu, and now relating with El-Rufai told Sunday Vanguard.

Advantage

While the former governor is not very popular with the grassroots, his capacity for organisation is one that gives him advantage in the camp of the opposition.

Besides, El-Rufai, who played a key role in persuading northern governors to support Tinubu during the 2022 presidential primary of the APC, is said to be in regular touch with some of the northern governors.

 
Remarkably, El-Rufai, who helped to damage Mr Peter Obi in 2022/3 in realisation that the leader of the Obedient Family and the candidate of the Labour Party in the 2023 election would be on the 2027 ticket one way or the other, has already started inclining towards him.

In the clearest indication to that, his son, Bashir, issued a tweet on Monday on how his former party, APC, deceived him about the good qualities of Peter Obi.

Whatever, suggestion that the SDP would be the final bus-stop for the opposition coalition appears unlikely.
The 2023 presidential candidate of the party, Adewole Adebayo, in an interview on a television station on Friday, reiterated his intention to again contest, indicative of a split among the opposition coalition.

While emphasising his determination to contest the 2027 presidential election irrespective of those joining the party, he said: ”Let us understand something. I don’t worry about that; everybody who is coming in knows I will run in 2027.”

A source in the opposition camp was, however, dismissive of the suggestion of the SDP being the vehicle to be used against Tinubu’s second term in 2027.

 
“It is neither here nor there. We are not pushing the narrative of persons or parties, but rather a bonding to produce victory,” the source revealed.

Niger Republic has turned to Nigeria for help after being hit by fuel shortage.

The West African country reached out to Nigeria despite months of diplomatic tensions and hostile rhetoric.

Sunday PUNCH learnt that a delegation of senior officials of the military junta travelled down to Abuja to meet Federal Government representatives.

At the end of the deliberation, 300 trucks of Premium Motor Spirit were reportedly approved for delivery to the country.

A senior government official aware of the development said Nigeria approved the deal with the hope of using it as a “strategic bargaining tool” in ongoing negotiations with Niger.

According to the official, the delegation explained that Niger had been reliant on fuel from a Chinese refinery.

However, due to issues with the supplier, the refinery was shut down, leaving the country with limited options.

Our correspondents gathered that Niger turned to Nigeria after the fuel shortage problem became critical. However, the details of the arrangement are said to be secret.

“We do not want to blow our trumpet. Rather, we want to use it as a bargaining chip for negotiation, as we continue to engage with them to bring them back to ECOWAS.

“Let them get more from us. I am confident that gradually they will come back to ECOWAS because they do not have enough resources to import food to sustain their citizens,” the source added.

Officials of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited said the deal could have been done by the Presidency, as the national oil firm now operates as a limited liability company.

Similarly, a source at the Dangote Petroleum Refinery declined comments due to diplomatic concerns.

The Presidency also declined comments on the matter.

Niger fuel crisis

Sunday PUNCH gathered that the fuel crisis in Niger reached alarming proportions last week after a litre of petrol sold for N8,000 in some parts of the country.

Findings by our correspondents in Sokoto State, which shares a border with Niger, showed that the price of petrol varied depending on the distance from Nigeria.

A transborder businessman from Nigeria, Mallam Abubakar Usman, said, “There is serious scarcity of fuel in the country. It depends on where one is getting the fuel.

“In Konni, the border town between Nigeria and Niger, you can get a litre at 1,200 CFA, which is about N2,500. If you go to Agadez, the same litre of fuel is 3,000 CFA, equivalent to N7,500 per litre. In Arilit, a local government under Agadez, which is the border town between Niger and Algeria, it is 3,500 CFA, which is about N8,750 when converted to our currency.”

Usman attributed the scarcity to the deteriorating relationship between Nigeria and Niger.

An official of the Nigerian Immigration Service, who spoke on condition of anonymity, confirmed that some trucks carrying petrol were sighted passing through the border.

Niger-China oil firm clash

The fuel crisis in Niger may have been self-inflicted after a confrontation between the ruling junta and Chinese oil companies which had long dominated the country’s petroleum sector.

A security analyst, Zagazola Makama, in an article he published on X, revealed that trouble began in March 2024 when the China National Petroleum Corporation granted the Nigerien government a $400m advance, using future crude oil deliveries as collateral.

The deal was to help Niger cope with crippling economic sanctions imposed by ECOWAS following the July 2023 coup in the country.

However, when it was time to repay the debt, the junta was cash strapped.

Instead of negotiating, the military rulers were said to have decided to strong-arm China, slapping an $80bn tax demand on Soraz (Zinder Refinery Company) despite the state-owned Sonidep already owing Soraz a staggering $250bn.

According to Makama, when China refused to provide additional loans, the junta retaliated by expelling Chinese oil executives from the country and seizing Soraz’s bank accounts.

The decision was said to have backfired and led to the collapse of Niger’s petroleum sector, which is heavily reliant on Chinese expertise and investment.

The Soraz refinery, the lifeline of Niger’s fuel supply, ground to a halt, and fuel shortages spread like wildfire.

But the Commercial Director of the state-owned Nigerien Company for Oil Products (Sonidep), Maazou Aboubacar, told AFP that the Soraz refinery in Zinder could no longer satisfy domestic demand.

According to him, the reason is principally down to the drying up of the flourishing black market supplied from Nigeria.

The country’s refinery only provides Sonidep with 25 tanker trucks of petrol a day, when the daily national requirement is up to twice that.

Domestic consumption was said to have been boosted by a cut in fuel prices introduced by the military regime that seized power in Niger in 2023.

Nigeria the good neighbour

Niger Republic’s Head of State, Brig. Gen. Abdourahmane Tchiani, had accused Nigeria of colluding with France to destabilise his country through the terror group, Lakurawa.

Speaking in Hausa in December 2024, Tchiani claimed that there were plans to establish a terrorist training camp in Gaba Forest, near Sokoto, as part of a supposed agreement between France and the Islamic State West Africa Province.

He further alleged that Nigerian authorities were aware of these developments.

The Federal Government denied the allegations.

In February 2025, Niger reportedly stopped some Nigerians from entering into its cities because they carried ECOWAS passports.

Makama, the counter- insurgency expert, said despite the false accusations and diplomatic snubs, Nigeria stepped in to help Niger with fuel which had been crossing into the country to ease the crisis.

While sharing videos of some of the fuel trucks going into Niger, he said the junta remained too proud to admit its dependency.

“While fuel shipments from Nigeria have already started alleviating the crisis, Niger’s state media has deliberately avoided reporting where the fuel is coming from. Instead, the government has attempted to portray the fuel availability as a result of its own internal measures, a claim that many Nigeriens are beginning to question,” he said.

Nigeria supplied 13.5 million litres of petrol

Reacting, oil marketers said although they were not aware of the deal, the export of 300 tankers to Niger Republic would amount to about 13.5 million litres of petrol.

It was calculated that 300 of 45,000-litre capacity trucks is about 13.5 million litres of petrol to be exported to Niger Republic.

The dealers, however, stated that Nigeria had enough to save the junta-led country from the current fuel crisis rocking it.

According to marketers, Nigeria may have passed the days of fuel scarcity as it now has the Dangote refinery, the Port Harcourt refinery, and others producing fuel locally even as importers bring more from other countries.

The National Vice President of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, Hammed Fashola, said he was aware of the fuel crisis in Niger Republic, adding that Nigeria had enough to bail out the country.

“I will not say we don’t have that capacity with the refineries we have in the country. I think we have enough to supply Niger Republic,” the IPMAN Vice President said.

Similarly, the National President of the Petroleum Products Retail Outlet Owners Association of Nigeria, Billy Gillis-Harry, agreed that the country had enough PMS to help its neighbours without running into any crisis.

“If we have a diplomatic reason for that, it is doable,” Gillis-Harry asserted.

All Progressives Congress (APC) chieftain, Joe Igbokwe, has pleaded with the former governor of Kaduna State, Nasir El-Rufai and his son to desist from making inflammatory statements.

Speaking via his Facebook page, Igbokwe commended the former governor for the efforts made towards placing the APC in power in the 2023 elections. He, however, condemned El-Rufai’s vituperations, insisting that they were too low for a politician of his calibre.

According to Igbokwe: “I want my good friend , HE El Rufai to stop all these not-too-good statements I see everyday. He is bigger than this. His sons should also maintain a grave silence at least for now.

“I am not unmindful of the risky efforts Malam made for APC to triumph in 2023. He drilled the deepest well for APC. However, this street dance is totally negative and consequently too low. I CALL HIM THE STORMY PETRELDazzol.”

Igbokwe’s reaction follows the former Kaduna Governor’s defection from the APC to the Social Democratic Party (SDP).

El-Rufai defected after criticizing the APC’s failure to ensure internal democracy within the party.

Naija News reports that in an interview with the British Broadcasting Corporation, El-Rufai also accused the APC government of deviating from its founding principles.

The former governor further alleged that positions in the present administration, led by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, are now distributed based on favoritism rather than merit.

As part of its preparations for the 2027 general elections, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has commenced the formulation of its Election Project Plan (EPP), incorporating lessons learned from the 2023 general elections to enhance efficiency and credibility.

A senior official at the commission, who spoke to Saturday PUNCH, revealed that the new election framework aims to address logistical shortcomings and improve technical processes to ensure seamless electoral operations in 2027.

According to the INEC source, the 2027-2031 Strategic Plan is also in development to replace the current 2022-2026 framework, which is set to expire in December 2026.

“An important aspect of the current effort is the preparation of another critical document that will act as a bridge between 2026 and 2027—the general election year—which the current 2022-2026 plan does not cover.

“This document will provide the foundation for the 2027 EPP, ensuring continuity and seamless transition into the next election cycle,” the official said

While the 2022-2026 Strategic Plan focused on institutionalizing INEC’s processes, improving capacity building, professionalism, synergy among departments, and resource management, the EPP will be a more comprehensive election-specific plan designed to tackle specific challenges observed in previous elections.

Investigations by Saturday PUNCH revealed that the Election Project Plan (EPP) was first introduced for the 2015 general election and has since been utilized for the 2019 and 2023 elections.

However, following challenges encountered during the 2023 polls, INEC is fine-tuning its operations to ensure a more seamless voting process in 2027.

“We are updating our election templates to improve efficiency and reliability. The lessons from 2023 are shaping our approach to 2027,” the source added.

The 2023 general elections, which had 93,469,008 registered voters across 176,846 polling units, required an extensive logistical operation involving over 1.5 million electoral personnel, including polling staff, supervisors, and security officials and 182,491 vehicles deployed across Nigeria’s diverse terrains.

Despite these preparations, INEC encountered logistical and technical issues, particularly with the upload of presidential election results to the INEC Result Viewing (IReV) portal.

While the National Assembly election results were successfully uploaded, the presidential election results faced delays due to technical glitches.

A post-election review traced the problem to a configuration error, which prevented the system from properly mapping the presidential results, which are national, as opposed to state-specific elections.

Naija News understands that INEC later resolved the issue with software updates, successfully uploading the first presidential election result sheet later on election day.

The family of Afrobeats superstar, Asake, has finally spoken out amid the ongoing controversy involving the singer and a man, Fatai Odunsi, who claims to be his father.

The controversy erupted after a viral video surfaced showing Odunsi appealing to the public for financial assistance, citing serious health issues.

He said he has been battling stroke since 2022 and that Asake has ignored his calls despite his deteriorating condition.

In response, Asake addressed the issue in a cryptic yet emotional message shared on TikTok. 

Singing in Yoruba, he said, “You can’t please everyone, you can’t please the world. But anything you are doing, just do it for God.

“My own father wants to cajole me, and I have sent so much money to him. I have struggled for so many years, but they want to make life tire me.”

Amid the ongoing drama, Asake’s family has now broken their silence, not only addressing the allegations but also accusing the singer of neglecting his daughter, Zeenat, and her mother.

They urged Asake to take responsibility for his father’s welfare and expressed willingness to conduct a DNA test to determine the paternity of 11-year-old Zeenat.

A woman featured in the video made a direct appeal to the singer, saying, “I am begging you, Ololade Mr Money, he shoild come and do the needful.

“I’m begging you, Ololade Mr. Money. Even if Nigerians donate ₦10bn to this man, just ₦1m from Asake would make him happier.

“Please take care of your father. If you don’t want to support him directly, buy him a house in Isale Eko where he can earn rent to survive.

“In this Isale Eko, you can see house of ₦40m, ₦50m that you can build that this man can be collecting rent. Also, if you are in doubt about Zeenat, the mother has agreed to a DNA test.”

Click the link below to watch the video:

The United States Congress has authorized President Donald Trump to impose severe sanctions on Nigeria following alarming reports that the country accounts for 90 percent of Christians killed globally each year. The decision, announced by Chris Smith, Chairman of the U.S. House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Africa, came after a congressional hearing on the persecution of Christians in Nigeria. The hearing featured testimonies, including that of Bishop Wilfred Anagbe of Makurdi, who described militant Fulani herdsmen as terrorists operating with impunity.

Smith criticized the Nigerian government for failing to protect Christians, citing a report by the Observatory for Religious Freedom in Africa, which documented over 55,000 killings and 21,000 abductions linked to religious violence between 2019 and 2023. He also blamed the previous Biden administration for removing Nigeria from the Country of Particular Concern (CPC) list, a designation Trump had initially placed on the country. Smith urged Trump to take decisive action, reintroducing a resolution calling for renewed CPC designation and potential sanctions if the violence continues.

“This hearing should be a catalyst for action,” Smith stated, emphasizing that sanctions have historically driven change. He expressed confidence that Trump would engage Nigerian President Bola Tinubu on the crisis and take necessary steps to address what he termed “religious cleansing.”

In response, the Nigerian Presidency rejected the US Congress’s findings, describing the report as lacking context and timelines. Special Adviser to the President on Policy Communication, Daniel Bwala, defended the Tinubu administration, stating that it promotes religious tolerance and has significantly reduced cases of Christian persecution since taking office on May 29, 2023.

“While we are in no way admitting or authenticating the report of the US foreign relations committee, it is noteworthy to state that the committee’s report falls short of context and timelines,” Bwala said. “President Bola Tinubu remains committed to promoting peace and religious tolerance.”

Order parties to await Supreme Court verdict

The Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja, on Friday, suspended the execution of its judgement that reinstated a former Governor of the Central Bank, CBN, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, as the 16th Emir of Kano.

The appellate court, in a unanimous decision by a three-member panel led by Justice Okon Abang, halted the implementation of the judgement, to await the outcome of an appeal that is pending before the Supreme Court.
The court held that it found merit in applications marked: CA/KN/27M/2025 and CA/KN/28M/2025, which were brought before it in respect of the Kano Emirate tussle.

Specifically, the appellate court held that: “An injunction is hereby granted restraining the respondents (Kano State House of Assembly, Kano State Government, etc.), either by themselves, their agents, privies, servants, or personal representatives, from enforcing the judgment of this Court in Appeal No.

CA/KN/126/2024 – Kano State House of Assembly & Anor Vs Alhaji Aminu Babba-Dan’Agundi & Others, delivered on 10/1/2025, pending the hearing and determination of the Applicant’s appeal filed on 24/1/2025 before the Supreme Court of Nigeria.”

The panel further directed the parties to maintain the status quo ante bellum, pending the judgement of the apex court, even as it gave the Applicant 48 hours to file an undertaking to indemnify the Respondents in damages, in the event that the orders ought not to have been made.

It will be recalled that the appellate court had on January 10, voided the June 20, 2024, decision of Justice Abubakar Liman of the Federal High Court, which invalidated the Kano State Emirates Council (Repeal) Law 2024 that facilitated Sanusi’s reappointment.

According to the appellate court, Justice Liman was bereft of the jurisdiction to nullify the steps the Kano State Government took pursuant to the 2024 Emirates Council Law.

It held that a fundamental rights enforcement suit that was filed by an aggrieved kingmaker in the state, Alhaji Aminu Babba Dan Agundi, which the high court judge relied upon to issue the order, was incompetent.

There are strong indications that some former ministers of ex-President Muhammadu Buhari will move en masse to the Social Democratic Party.

A senator in the ninth Assembly, who spoke to Saturday PUNCH on condition of anonymity, said at least 10 former members of the Buhari cabinet were moving to the SDP.

“What they’re waiting for is the finalisation of the party structure in their respective states,” the source said.

Our correspondents gathered that leading Buhari’s loyalists in the defections are the former National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, Abdullahi Adamu; ex-Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami; and former Senate President, Ahmed Lawan. 

El-Rufai makes first move

One of Buhari’s loyalists and former governor of Kaduna State, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai, on Monday, defected to the SDP, citing a growing misalignment between his personal values and the current direction of the APC as the primary reason for his decision.

“Developments in the last two years confirm that those who currently control and run the APC do not desire to acknowledge, much less address, the party’s unhealthy situation.

“I have raised concerns in private and, more recently, in public regarding the party’s capricious trajectory. Therefore, at this point in my political journey, I have come to the conclusion that I must seek another political platform to pursue the progressive values I cherish,” he said.

El-Rufai, who is a vocal critic of President Bola Tinubu’s administration, disclosed on Wednesday that he sought Buhari’s approval before leaving the APC.

“I left the APC with his (Buhari’s) full knowledge. I visited him on a Friday and informed him of my decision to leave the party because I involve and consult with him on all my matters.

“I have those I consult with in everything I do. I inform them of anything I intend to do, and when they demand that I keep off, I do. My first godfather is Muhammadu Buhari.

“For the rest, I will not mention them because if I do, they’ll be pressured,” El-Rufai told the BBC Hausa service in an interview.

CPC bloc to work against Tinubu

El-Rufai’s defection and Buhari’s purported approval opened a floodgate of defections as some other members of the APC in the North, especially those of CPC extraction, have also been dumping the party.

Buhari, El-Rufai, Malami, and Lawan were leaders of the Congress for Progress Change until the party joined the Action Congress of Nigeria, a part of the All Progressives Grand Alliance, and members of the New Peoples Democratic Party to form the APC in 2013.

The former Kaduna governor’s statement also revealed the long-talked-about coalition involving some aggrieved leaders of the APC.

Following El-Rufai’s defection, a chieftain of the APC, Ahmad Kaita, who is a former senator, and member of the House of Representatives from Katsina, also joined the SDP.

Kaita is also a former member of the CPC.

Similarly, former Kaduna State commissioners for Agriculture, Ibrahim Hussaini; Justice, Aisha Dikko; Health, Amina Baloni; and Education, Halima Lawal; as well as former Head of Service, Hajiya Bari’atu Mohammed, also dumped the APC for the SDP.

Also, the Campaign Secretary of the APC in Gombe State during the 2015 general elections, Adamu Modibbo, has left the party. Modibbo is now the chairman of the SDP in the state.

A former Publicity Secretary of the APC in Borno State, Abdulaziz Galadima, while confirming his defection to the SDP to our correspondent, said he left the party because it deviated from the principles and ideology on which it was founded.

Galadima also confirmed that many original CPC members would leave the APC for “SDP or another party.”

Other politicians leaving

Saturday PUNCH reached out to Malami for comments on the matter, but the SAN neither answered calls nor responded to messages sent to his mobile phone.

However, one of his closest aides confirmed his involvement in the coalition move.

The aide, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said, “It is not about ousting Tinubu in 2027 but about our conviction that we have better and more credible constitutional alternatives to offer Nigerians in governance, particularly with regard to institutionalising a human-centred approach to governance.

“We collectively abhor the prevailing order in which governance is commercialised to the detriment of Nigerians and their welfare. It seems to be a marriage of tendencies that cut across the existing political parties with high-profile politicians from PDP, defunct CPC, ACN and APC among others.

“In personality sense, those involved across the geographical zones include serving and former governors and senators, former ministers, and past and present party officials.”

 
The highly credible source mentioned former governors of Rivers, Imo, Cross Rivers, Sokoto and Osun states, Rotimi Amaechi, Emeka Ihedioha, Liyel Imoke, Aminu Tambuwal and Rauf Aregbesola, respectively, as part of the stakeholders in the coalition movement.

A former Senate President, David Mark; ex-national chairman of APC, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun; a former Buhari’s Minister of State for Education, Emeka Nwajiuba, and the senator representing Borno South, Ali Ndume, among others, were also involved in the coalition.

Speaking with Saturday PUNCH, a chieftain of the APC in Imo State confirmed that the CPC extraction in the APC had concluded plans to leave the party for a coalition.

“That some ministers who served under Buhari are leaving or will leave the APC is confirmed. However, they may not join the SDP, but I know they are part of the coalition movement,” said the chieftain, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

According to him, no fewer than 10 ministers and many senators in the ninth National Assembly were leaving the APC.

He said, “President Tinubu has mismanaged the success of our party, and it is painful that things are going awry every day. APC bigwigs, both in the North and South, are not happy, and the President doesn’t care. You don’t grow by reducing in size. The APC is reducing in size.

“The CPC bloc of the party has also been leaving. You will agree with me that the CPC is a strong bloc in the APC, and if it is gone, I doubt if the APC will remain the same.

 
“Those leaving the APC are foundation members who have genuine followers. Apart from El-Rufai, other former governors are also involved in the political movement. These are not paperweight politicians.”

Similarly, a former Minister of Sports and Youth Development, Solomon Dalung, in an interview with Saturday PUNCH, said he was aware that many Nigerians, including former ministers, were involved in some political discussions.

Dalung, who left the APC for the SDP in 2022, said, “We are in discussions with many people across the country, including former ministers and senators. But because it is at the level of discussion, I will have to protect their identities.

“However, I can assure you that, from what is going on, a large number of the political class from across the political parties in Nigeria are coming together to have a common front.

“This problem Tinubu found himself in is self-inflicted. It is caused by his ego. He is an egoistic personality who sees himself as an emperor. He thinks he has conquered Nigeria. But I’m telling you that unless he changes his method of governance, we will soon know who Nigerians are.”

Dalung also accused President Tinubu of not treating Buhari fairly.

“The two of them aligned in 2014 to form the APC, which won the election. Buhari conceded the vice president to Tinubu and five other ministers, and he supported his presidential ambition.

 
“Currently, Tinubu cannot mention a single special adviser he considered for Buhari in his administration. The President is not treating Buhari fairly,” he added.

Aregbesola’s media adviser, Sola Fasure, declined to comment on the purported plan by the former Minister of Interior to join the SDP.

“We will talk about our political movement at the right time,” he said.

But one of Aregbesola’s loyalists, who spoke to Saturday PUNCH on condition of anonymity, said the former governor had been invited to join the SDP.

According to the insider, Aregbesola is part of a political movement involving some of his colleagues from the Buhari administration and other prominent politicians in the country.

He said, “I can’t confirm whether it is the SDP we are joining, but I know there is an ongoing political movement. Some ministers and former APC officials are involved.

“The movement is even bigger than any single political party. From my understanding, even if we join the SDP, the African Democratic Congress, or any other party, it will only serve as a structure. Eventually, all these smaller parties will collapse into a coalition in 2027. A coalition is the main game.”

 
Aregbesola’s group, Omoluabi Progressives, left the APC a few months ago, citing ostracism, suspension, and expulsion of members without fair hearing, as well as the perceived neglect and marginalisation of the group within the APC structure.

When contacted, Buhari’s media aide, Garba Shehu, said he would have to reach the former president before commenting on the reported defection plan of his ministers.

But Buhari has reiterated that he is a loyal member of the APC and would like to be addressed as such.