Reports suggest that the Presidency has given the green light for stakeholders to begin searching for a replacement for the All Progressives Congress (APC) National Chairman, Dr. Abdullahi Ganduje.
There are indications that the Villa has commissioned APC Governors from the North Central geo-political zone to begin a search for a new Chairman from the region, as originally planned by the party, News About Nigeria reports.
Besides the North Central zone producing the next Chairman, the Villa might be open to allowing the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) camp within the party to produce Ganduje’s replacement as part of appeasement moves.
This comes after Ganduje’s recent political travail, including his handling of the Edo and Ondo primaries and the probe into his tenure as Kano State governor, The New Telegraph Newspaper quoted sources as saying.
The sources further hinted that Ganduje’s woes are being compounded by an alleged plan for the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) presidential candidate in 2023, Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, to return to the APC.
The APC chairman has been locked in a legal battle in Kano State over moves to suspend him in his ward by some persons claiming to be APC executives. They hinged their suspension on the probe into Ganduje’s administration over alleged financial misappropriation by Governor Abba Yusuf.
While Ganduje blames the NNPP-led administration in the state for his travails, the APC leadership, at federal and state levels, has since distanced themselves from the suspension moves.
Meanwhile, it was learned that the APC-led presidency adopted the silence option over Ganduje’s ordeal, in light of unfolding political intrigues in the North ahead of the 2027 presidential election.
With the frayed political romance between President Bola Tinubu and some of his allies in the region, it might “be convenient to forge new alliances which might involve making tough decisions,” a source quoted by New Telegraph said.
The source, who neither confirmed nor denied the prospect of Kwankwaso returning to the party, however, said the president would need to firm his base in the region, having seemingly fallen out with some politicians, like former Kaduna governor, Nasir el-Rufai.
Another APC chieftain, who also pleaded not to be named, said Tinubu is keeping quiet on the issues about Ganduje because he single-handedly brought him to the position.
The source said: “Unlike in the case of Adams Oshimhole who was elected at a national convention and was not the then President Muhammadu Buhari candidate, hence he was allowed to sink, Ganduje is more or less an appointee of the president and, though quiet, he is enjoying the protection of Villa.”
In the build-up to the 2022 national convention, the APC had zoned the position to the North Central zone, which saw Senator Abdullahi Adamu emerge as national chairman. He resigned in 2023, paving the way for Ganduje, who hails from North West, to become chairman.
Recall that an APC chairmanship aspirant in 2022, Muhammad Etsu, is seeking a legal injunction to stop Ganduje from parading himself as national chairman. He had earlier argued for the national chairmanship seat to return to the North Central zone.
