• Widespread discontent looms among Kano APC, region’s stakeholders
• N’Central Forum backs Al-Makura for Nat. Chair, N’West youths endorse Yari
• Ganduje’s resignation ‘wise, timely’ to avoid disgrace, says Kano APC chieftain
• NNPP: Kwankwaso joining ruling party would be ‘huge relief’
As mixed reactions trail Abdullahi Umar Ganduje’s resignation as the national chairman of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), reports from Kano State and the broader northern region indicate palpable unease among party members. Specifically, it is understood that the anticipated entry of the former presidential candidate of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, may trigger widespread discontent among established APC stakeholders in Kano State.
The entry of the leader of the Kwankwasiyya group, alongside his protégé, Governor Kabir Yusuf, is expected to alter the political structure of the state chapter of the APC. This development could challenge the influence of figures such as the Deputy Senate President, Barau Jibrin, and the senator representing Kano South Senatorial District, Kawu Sumaila, who are seen as President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s trusted foot soldiers.
Other notable APC stalwarts, such as Senator Abdullaziz Yari, Senator Atiku Bagudu, and the Minister of State for Defence, Bello Matawalle, are reportedly concerned about the implications for their political future should Kwankwaso assume leadership of the party.
Meanwhile, a close ally of the former NNPP presidential contender, Buba Galadima, dismissed reports of Kwankwaso’s imminent defection as speculative. He claimed that President Tinubu’s inner circle wanted both Ganduje and Vice President Kashim Shettima replaced to foster stronger partnerships in the North.
This was as a party chieftain from Borno State, Dogo Hamza, emphasised that the position of national chairman belongs to the North-Central, not the North-West. He added that Ganduje’s removal should not affect the vice presidency, blaming President Tinubu for the situation.
Hamza remarked: “In the beginning, Tinubu wanted Senator Tanko Al-Makura, but because (President Muhammadu) Buhari was still in charge, Buhari wanted Adamu. We did not know why Buhari disagreed because Al-Makura used to be a friend of Buhari and was the only CPC (Congress for Progressive Change) governor at the time.
“Now, after becoming President, Tinubu was beholden to Ganduje because Ganduje really worked and followed him everywhere. But there were also issues, you know? Ganduje couldn’t pull that weight in Kano. Tinubu and APC need the votes of Kano because Kano alone can neutralise all the states in the South-East and even parts of the South-West.
“Originally, Ganduje said he was not interested in becoming chairman, that the slot belonged to North-Central. He said he wanted to be a minister, but Tinubu thought that with this Gan-Dollar thing, the opposition would embarrass and ridicule him, so he had to remove the party chairman.”
Hamza further revealed that because the president wants someone they can control as party chairman, Kwankwaso may not be considered. “When the thing was zoned to the North West, the North Central insisted that it was their slot,” he explained.
“But that’s one thing; another thing is that you know Tinubu is a very good gambler. His target is Kwankwaso. Two issues are now highlighted. One, Kwankwaso is insisting that Ganduje cannot be his leader either in Kano or at the federal level. So, I think that’s one of the conditions he’s given to them.
“Anyway, there are insinuations that they plan to shift the vice presidency also to the North West. This is where the problem will come from. It is not good, and it is not going to be easy,” he noted.
The APC chieftain concluded: “In the party today, there is no northerner, now that they are going for a second term, who will be as loyal as Shettima. He is younger than Kwankwaso, and he is not fighting for anything. He’s not saying that he wants to be President of Nigeria. He doesn’t have that ambition.”
But predicting the imminent emergence of Kwankwaso as a potential replacement, another chieftain from Kano noted that Ganduje had been occupying the top party seat, which rightly belonged to the North Central, suggesting that the former chairman might have been affected by zoning considerations.
The source, who pleaded anonymity, could not explain why President Tinubu would overlook the North Central in favour of Kwankwaso, who hails from the same political zone as Ganduje.
He stated: “Ganduje might have been forced to resign, because a voluntary resignation at this time is not expected. Yet, it is not surprising because that seat is very hot. We know what has happened to his predecessors, so it is hard to see a chairman completing their tenure as APC chairman. We saw what happened to Abdullahi Adamu, Adams Oshiomhole, and even Chief (John) Odigie Oyegun.”
When asked if the resignation was connected to the perceived conflict between Ganduje and Vice President Kashim Shettima, the source vehemently disagreed, insisting that President Tinubu orchestrated the Gombe drama.
He said, “The drama in Gombe State at the North-East APC endorsement meeting was designed to provoke North-East party members and assess their readiness for the 2027 election.
“If you check the contribution of APC in the North-East during the 2023 election, you will agree with me that it was insignificant. So, what happened was intended to wake them up. I don’t think the President intended to remove Shettima, and the drama can’t be attributed to Ganduje.”
On whether Ganduje’s resignation would affect Tinubu’s fortune in Kano in the 2027 general election, the APC chieftain doubted the likelihood of any discord threatening Tinubu’s prospects.
“It is not necessarily possible for Ganduje’s resignation to threaten Tinubu’s chances in Kano because I don’t think Ganduje will fight back. You know Ganduje is a very loyal and committed member of the APC.
“But what I’m thinking, considering the current wave of permutations, is that Kwankwaso may likely emerge as the new APC chairman. This is my personal observation. Kwankwaso will join APC soon.”
Another chieftain, a close ally of Ganduje from Kano State, told The Guardian in confidence that Ganduje’s exit was a good omen for the party in the state. He accused Ganduje of appropriating nearly all appointive positions meant for Kano to himself and his family members, to the detriment of party stalwarts in the state.
“There won’t be any implications for the party in Kano State. It is in the best interest of APC in Kano.
He messed up everything with corrupt practices in the Ondo, Edo, Anambra, and FCT Area Council primaries, which the President could not tolerate any longer. He had to go for party cohesion. As a sitting governor, he lost not just the governorship but virtually all elective seats to the NNPP.
“So, he couldn’t have made any impact on the party with the NNPP in control of Kano State. I would rather have Kwankwaso in the APC than Ganduje, whose sense of self-centredness overshadows his sense of reasoning.
“This is someone who, as chairman of the party, still went ahead to allocate the chairman of the board of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) to himself, gave his son the Executive Director of Rural Electrification Agency position, and appointed his nephew and in-law as a presidential aide and FCT mandate secretary. He cared for himself and nobody else.”
The Chairman of the APC Stakeholders Forum in the North Central geopolitical zone, Dr Dominic Alancha, described Ganduje’s resignation as a welcome development.
He stated that it behoves President Tinubu to do the needful by returning the exalted seat to the North-Central geopolitical zone of the country. He added: “I don’t think the exit of Ganduje would have any negative impact on the party. Instead, I would say there are positive impacts that it will have on the party.
“For us in the North-Central zone, this position that was snatched from us was unfairly done. For some of us, we are happy with the development. Even in Kano, as I speak with you, people welcome the development. The same is true in Borno, Bauchi, and Gombe states, as well as the entire northern part of the country.
“What occurred was long overdue for him to have resigned. I think this is happening at the right time because the party needs to be rebranded. We need somebody with much integrity and capacity to be able to move the party forward. We still insist that they should zone this seat to the North-Central to further strengthen the party.”
On the alleged moves to woo Kwankwaso back to the APC and the prospects of a clash with the Ganduje-backed group, he remarked: “You have to weigh the strength of each of the groups. If you look at Kwankwaso, he is a man of strength; he has the political clout.
“We knew how instrumental he was in 2013 and 2014 to the victory of the party. Even in the last election, we lost Kano due to his influence in the NNPP. So, he would bring so much value into the party. Personally, we would be happy to have him as a member of the party due to the value he would add.”
North-Central APC Forum endorses Al-Makura for National Chairman
The North-Central All Progressives Congress (APC) Forum has endorsed former Nasarawa State governor, Alhaji Tanko Al-Makura, for the position of National Chairman of the party.
In a statement released in Abuja yesterday, Alhaji Saleh Zazzaga, the Chairman of the forum, stated that the endorsement followed extensive consultations among APC stakeholders in the North-Central geopolitical zone.
The statement, titled ‘Why Al-Makura deserves to be APC National Chairman,’ highlighted Al-Makura’s qualifications, noting that he hails from Nasarawa State, the same state as the removed former National Chairman, Abdullahi Adamu.
The forum also emphasised Al-Makura’s ties to the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), one of the three legacy parties that merged to form the APC. It noted that, unlike the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) and the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP), the CPC bloc is yet to produce a National Chairman for the party.
“Senator Tanko Al-Makura was a two-term governor whose clout and experience are pluses, and both former and sitting governors will see him as one of their own. He was a former Senator who was seen as part and parcel of the legislature. He was among the chairmanship aspirants who accepted without grudges the consensus option that threw up Abdullahi Adamu as National Chairman during the APC National Convention in 2022.
“His loyalty to APC and Mr President is not in doubt,” the statement read. The endorsement came just 24 hours after the North-Central APC Forum issued a demand for the National Chairman position to be returned to the region.
North-West youths pick Yari
The North-West Youths Consultative Forum has endorsed Senator Abdul’aziz Yari (APC-Zamfara West) for the position of National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), to succeed Dr Abdullahi Ganduje.
The group’s Chairman, Shaaya’u Sarkinfawa, announced the endorsement in a statement issued in Gusau yesterday. According to Sarkinfawa, Yari is deserving of the role due to his political capacity and extensive experience.
“The group under my leadership declared Yari to be the next option for the APC based on his capacity to deliver the mandate of the party in the 2027 general elections,” he said. He further stated that Yari, a founding member of the APC and a two-term Governor of Zamfara, has proven leadership abilities.
“Yari, the former Chairman of the Nigerian Governors’ Forum (NGF), has the capacity to lead the party based on his exemplified remarkable leadership,” he said. Sarkinfawa highlighted Yari’s track record, credibility, and integrity as key factors behind the group’s decision to support his candidacy.
“Our great party, the APC, deserves a leader like Yari who is capable of bringing positive changes through his ideas of democratic development and transformation,” he explained.
Ganduje’s resignation ‘wise, timely’ to avoid disgrace, says Kano APC chieftain
A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress in Kano, Alhaji Alhassan Yaryasa, has described Abdullahi Ganduje’s resignation as the party’s National Chairman as a wise and timely decision, stating that it allowed him to avoid imminent disgrace.
Speaking with reporters in Kano yesterday, Yaryasa claimed there were strong indications that Ganduje would have been forced out if he had not stepped down voluntarily. He alleged that secret plans were in place to forcibly remove Ganduje if he did not align with the presidency’s agenda.
“We knew there was a plan to bring Senator Rabi’u Kwankwaso into the APC and possibly make him the running mate of President Bola Tinubu in 2027. Whatever the case may be, the decision taken by Ganduje to resign is the best option for him before they disgrace him out of office,” Yaryasa said.
Yaryasa, a former Coordinator of the Tinubu Campaign Organisation for Kano South, commended Ganduje for his contributions to strengthening the APC at both state and national levels.
“Don’t forget Ganduje was able to bring key politicians from other parties into the APC, such as senators and Reps members who recently defected from different parties and joined the APC.
“So, it’s better for him to leave the position honourably before they force him to resign and disgrace him,” he added.
NNPP: Kwankwaso joining APC would be ‘huge relief’
The New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) has stated that it would be a “huge relief” for its members if its 2023 presidential candidate, Rabiu Kwankwaso, were to join the ruling All Progressives Congress.
This position was articulated in a statement issued by the NNPP National Secretary, Mr Oginni Olaposi, yesterday in Lagos. Olaposi was responding to the resignation of the APC national chairman, Abdullahi Ganduje, and speculations suggesting his departure was linked to an alleged move by Kwankwaso to join the ruling party. Ganduje resigned from his chairmanship on Friday, citing health issues.
Olaposi stated that while Ganduje’s resignation is an internal affair of the APC, the NNPP chose to react due to the ongoing issues between their party and Kwankwaso.
“Kwankwaso still insists he is a member of our party even after his expulsion for alleged anti-party activities,” Olaposi said. He added that “Kwankwaso did not only try to hijack the NNPP but made the party go through avoidable litigations.”
Olaposi further noted, “The NNPP logo that he changed to the Kwankwasiya Movement Logo has just been changed to our logo by INEC, after years of controversy and litigations.”
Expressing doubt about recent rumours, Olaposi stated, “We have reasons to doubt the ongoing propaganda that Ganduje left APC to enable an alleged negotiated arrangement with Kwankwaso ahead of the 2027 presidential election.” He also recalled, “It is on record that Ganduje once said that APC is always ready to pardon and accommodate defectors even those who left its fold.”
Olaposi affirmed that the NNPP “would be elated, if any proposed deal between APC and Kwankwaso became reality as the ruling party is in a better position to handle the former Kano state governor’s baggage.”
He concluded by expressing the party’s scepticism regarding Kwankwaso’s alleged negotiations with the APC while still trying to control the NNPP: “We find it difficult to believe that Kwankwaso who is still struggling to hijack the NNPP is also negotiating to join the ruling party.”
Olaposi added, “Kwankwaso betrayed our trust in him by trying to hijack the party from its founder, Dr Boniface Aniebonam, who facilitated his free ticket for the 2023 presidential election.” (Guardian)
