Former Governor intensifies lobby as N’Central APC demands chairmanship slot

by faida idris kanempress

24th july, 2023

A former governor of Kano State, Umaru Ganduje, is intensifying his bid to emerge the next National Chairman of the ruling All Progressives Congress.

The crisis within the ruling party caused the exit of two other members, Senator Abdullahi Adamu and Senator Iyiola Omisore as the party’s National Chairman and National Secretary,.

Former state Governor Ganduje from the North-West zone has been paying visits to prominent party members to seek support for his ambition, but the North-Central zone opposes.

Reports say former Governor Ganduje had secured the support of President Bola Tinubu and the umbrella body of Governors elected on the platform of the APC, Progressives Governors’ Forum.

The PGF, which had met in Abuja, agreed to back Ganduje as Adamu’s successor.

Former governor Ganduje had also met with the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, George Akume, and Senator Aliyu Wamakko, a former governor of Sokoto State, in Abuja as he intensified his lobbying to be the consensus candidate for the ruling party’s top job.

The chairmen of the APC in the North-Central zone frowned on moves by the former state governor to succeed Adamu.

The party chairmen insisted that for fairness and equity, the chairmanship position should remain in the North-Central zone “since it was unanimously zoned to the area during the party’s National Convention last year.’’

The Nasarawa State Chairman of the APC, John Mamman, said in Lafia

“All members of the All Progressives Congress in the country are aware that the national chairmanship position of our party was zoned to the North-Central during the National Convention,” Mamman said.

“Now that the position is vacant and there won’t be another zoning but replacement, it is expected that we in the North-Central zone should retain the position for fairness and equity,” he said.

“As leaders of the North-Central, we (chairmen) are hoping that the party will leave the national chairmanship position for us because apart from that, we do not have any other top position in the country. So, we are appealing that the party and all our members should see reason with us why we should retain the position,” Mamman said.

Also, the National Vice Chairman for APC North-West, Mallam Salihu Lukman, the North-Central to retain the national chairmanship position.

Lukman in Abuja on Sunday titled: ‘APC and Question of Party Building’, appealed to President Tinubu to follow constitutional order by allowing the National Working Committee to choose Adamu’s successor from the North-Central.

“The issue is whether as the leader of the party, President Asiwaju Tinubu is committed to restoring constitutional order within the APC. Restoring constitutional order would require some demonstration of commitment to give life to the statutory organs of the APC so that the debate about replacing the national chairman and all existing vacancies, including that of the national secretary will be done within the structures of the party,” he concluded.