Coalition not a threat to APC, says Dalori

Ali Bukar Dalori, acting national chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), says he is committed to uniting party members and leading the ruling party to victory.

He also dismissed chances of a coalition usurping the APC at the centre in 2027.

Dalori, who officially assumed office on Monday, previously served as the party’s deputy national chairman (north).

In an interview with BBC Hausa, Dalori said he would prioritise reconciliation among APC members at the state, ward, and local government levels.

“I must rise and show all APC politicians that I have done my best to reconcile those who have had issues with one another,” he said.

“I will sit with them or appoint representatives who will go and meet them to prepare for this journey, which is greater than before, because politics needs people, and people need to be cared for in politics.”

Dalori said the date for the party’s national convention has not been fixed, adding that consultations with party stakeholders must take place before a decision is made.

“There are elders we must consult, and they are the ones to give the directive on whether the convention should hold or not,” he said.

He admitted that the APC faces challenges, particularly at the state level, citing recent developments in the north-east.

“Politics inherited this — our mouths are one, our heads are together, and we are still working with all of them,” he said.

Dalori claimed that fear over political futures was one reason why some opposition figures defected to the APC.

“I’m not hiding anything — they were afraid,” he said.

“If they had stayed there, they wouldn’t contest elections. They joined us so that their needs could be met.”

Dalori dismissed the recent efforts by opposition parties to form a coalition, saying it would have no impact on the APC.

“I believe the expected implosion will not happen because we have sewn it together with a strong thread that will not break,” he said.

“Nobody is talking about a coalition except in Abuja. Even in Abuja, they are in a hotel, and when they are defeated in elections, they will leave the country.”

On Monday, the national working committee (NWC) of the APC fixed July 24 for a national executive committee (NEC) meeting to nominate a new national chairman for the party.

The decision was reached at an emergency meeting of the NWC held at the party’s national secretariat in Abuja.

Abdullahi Ganduje, former national chairman of the APC, resigned from his position last Friday.