“They Poached Our People, We Will Put Sand in Their Garri” — APC Chieftain Aliyu Admits Party Is Fighting Back Against ADC, Denies INEC Collusion

In a revealing and at times combative interview on ARISE News, a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress, Farouk Aliyu, admitted that the APC is actively working to politically harm the opposition African Democratic Congress in retaliation for the ADC’s poaching of key APC figures including El-Rufai and Malami, while simultaneously denying that the ruling party has any hand in INEC’s controversial decision to suspend recognition of the ADC’s leadership factions.

In the most explosive revelation of the interview, Farouk Aliyu, a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress, openly admitted that the ruling party is not sitting idle while the opposition poaches its members. He declared that the APC is actively retaliating politically against the ADC and other opposition parties that have attracted defectors from the ruling party’s ranks.

Aliyu made the admission while being pressed by the ARISE News anchor about a pattern of disruption within opposition parties. Rather than denying the charge outright, Aliyu pivoted to what he described as a justified response.

“I told you something — look, we will also not sit down and look and watch them destroy us or our party. The more they poach from us, we will also put sand in their garri.”

When the anchor challenged him on this admission, pointing out that it confirmed the playbook that critics have been accusing the APC of running, Aliyu doubled down, listing specific individuals that the ADC had attracted from the APC.

“They poached senior members of our party. They poached Malami from us. They poached El-Rufai from us. They poached so many other people from us. Should we just sit by?”

Aliyu went further, declaring that the APC’s political counter-operations against the opposition are legitimate and constitute fair game in competitive politics.

“So politically speaking, we are doing things in a political manner to also harm them, politically speaking. So whatever also they do, it’s fair game.”

While admitting that the APC is politically countering the opposition, Aliyu simultaneously argued that the ADC’s problems are largely self-inflicted. He accused the party of not taking the threats to its internal cohesion seriously and of treating warning signs with levity.

“This opposition party, they are simply not serious. I think ADC also has to be blamed because I think they did not take the things serious. Some of us that have watched the development — Kachukwu, their presidential candidate, has been screaming, been going to court, been making noise. But they probably treated it with levity.”

He specifically referenced the internal dissent led by Nafu Gombi, the party’s deputy national chairman, who had been raising alarms about factional takeover of the party. Aliyu said the ADC leadership ignored Gombi’s warnings and now has itself to blame.

“Remember their deputy national chairman from Gombi, Nafu Gombi. He made a lot of noise, but they ignored him. So what has APC got to do with this kind of thing? They should get their acts together.”

He contrasted the ADC’s handling of its internal crisis with the approach of Atiku Abubakar, the former PDP presidential candidate, who he said wisely chose to join a party where there were no such factional disputes.

“Look at Atiku — what he did. Atiku decided to go to a party where there are no issues. So they also should help the country to obey the court orders, follow things properly.”

Despite admitting that the APC is politically working to weaken the opposition, Aliyu categorically denied that the ruling party is colluding with the Independent National Electoral Commission in its decision to suspend recognition of the ADC’s warring factions.

His remarks came in response to allegations by the ADC’s national publicity secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, who accused INEC of being a “criminal organization” used by the APC to impose one-party rule. Abdullahi had alleged that “the electoral body acted under pressure from a government panicked by the opposition momentum.”

“I assure you, APC has no hand in it. We are not colluding with them. We have nothing to do with what INEC is doing. INEC is supposed to be an independent body that takes decisions on their behalf.”

Aliyu went further, saying the APC takes exception to any suggestion that the ruling party is behind INEC’s actions and rejected the narrative being pushed by the opposition.

“Anything that will bring, you know, impression that we the ruling party have anything to do with this kind of thing, we don’t. We in the APC don’t want anybody to have this kind of impression. My brother is saying that we are colluding, and it’s not true.”

In a notable moment of the interview, Aliyu did not give INEC a free pass despite defending the APC. He questioned why the electoral commission waited approximately three weeks after the Court of Appeal judgment on March 12 before taking action on the ADC matter. He called on INEC to explain the delay to Nigerians.

“This decision came about two or three weeks back, and I don’t know why they waited this long to do what they did. INEC should try to be seen to not overheat the politics. INEC should quickly, as quickly as possible, come up with the explanation because they owe it to us. They owe it to Nigerians.”

He also acknowledged that he was personally not happy with INEC’s handling of the matter, even as he insisted the APC was not involved.

“I’m also not happy with what INEC did, honestly. But it is unfair for anybody to blame APC for that. INEC can be sued for this kind of thing. But INEC should also know that they need to have a country first before there’s INEC.”

When asked about the threat posed by Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, who recently defected from the NNPP to the ADC, Aliyu acknowledged Kwankwaso’s political strength in Kano but questioned his reach beyond the state.

“Rabiu Kwankwaso is certainly not just a one-state man, but the truth of the matter is he is stronger in Kano, and he cannot be ignored. Nobody can ignore Rabiu Kwankwaso in Kano and in the politics of Kano and to some extent the northern part of the country.”

However, he added a significant caveat about Kwankwaso’s influence outside Kano, suggesting his dominance does not extend to other states.

“But yes, you also cannot disregard the people that think that he’s a one-state man. Outside Kano, I don’t think that it’s anywhere he has that kind of control — like absolute control, control that he can pull a crowd anytime. But he’s a force to reckon with in the political calculation in this country.”

Aliyu confirmed that the APC is keeping a close eye on Kwankwaso and considers him a genuine threat in Kano State specifically.

“In Kano you cannot ignore Kwankwaso, and you can also not ignore Kano in Nigeria. So yes, we are keeping eyes on him. We cannot ignore him. We respect him and he’s a force to reckon with in Kano. So he is certainly a threat to us in Kano, but we’ll try to counter that threat.”

When the ARISE News anchor challenged Aliyu on the APC’s characterisation of El-Rufai and Malami’s departures as “poaching,” pointing out that the APC had failed to honour its commitments to El-Rufai (who was put on a ministerial list but never confirmed) and had not properly settled its issues with Malami, Aliyu was pressed on the uncomfortable timing of corruption allegations against both men.

The anchor pointed out that El-Rufai and Malami faced no corruption allegations during their years of loyalty to the APC, but once they began associating with the ADC, both faced incarceration and legal troubles. Aliyu did not directly address this charge but instead argued that El-Rufai’s failure to receive a ministerial appointment should not have been reason enough for him to leave the party.

“Is it because he didn’t get a ministerial appointment then he can go berserk? No. If you have the interest of the party which, with his sweat and effort, he brought into government — he should be able to not decide to break down the roof because he lost out on a ministerial position.”

In a somewhat contradictory statement given his earlier admission of political retaliation, Aliyu said the APC wants a viable opposition and that Nigeria does not belong to the ruling party alone.

“We want viable opposition. We want them to come and oppose us because this country does not belong to APC. This country does not belong to APC. The government does not belong to Asiwaju. It belongs to all of us.”

He urged all Nigerians to view the current political crisis as a national problem rather than a partisan one, and called for collective responsibility in protecting democracy.

On the credibility of future elections and the broader state of democracy, Aliyu expressed confidence that democratic processes would prevail in 2027. When pressed on whether elections would be free and fair, he acknowledged the subjectivity of the question but ultimately placed the power in the hands of Nigerian voters.

“I sincerely believe that there will be democracy. Nigerians are going to decide. Even with the wisdom of Nigerians, whatever is happening today — if people don’t like it, please, when it comes to election, let Nigerians vote us out. Let us not break down the roof on all of us.”

When the anchor suggested that former President Muhammadu Buhari was a better democrat than President Tinubu, citing the fact that under Buhari, former CBN Governor Soludo was allowed to freely campaign for the presidency with posters and vehicles all over the country — something he implied would not be tolerated under the current administration — Aliyu deflected.

“Buhari has his style. Tinubu has his style, and there is no hand of Tinubu in this kind of thing. Different people, different styles.”

He did not directly answer whether Tinubu was a better or worse democrat than Buhari, choosing instead to characterise their approaches as simply different leadership styles.

In the closing moments of the interview, when asked directly whether INEC is truly independent and free from presidential interference, Aliyu gave an unequivocal answer.

“Whether INEC is independent, I think INEC is independent, and I can assure you and Nigerians, there is no presidential hand in that at all. Absolutely.”

The anchor closed the interview by telling Aliyu he hoped Nigerians could hold on to the assurance he had just given.

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