Strong indications have emerged that members of the ruling All Progressives Congress’ National Working Committee may clash with the party’s governors over a plan by the latter to adopt ex-governor Abdullahi Ganduje as the new national chairman of the party.
The development followed the sudden exit of Senator Abdullahi Adamu and Senator Iyiola Omisore as the party‘s national chairman and national secretary, respectively.
The crisis rocking the ruling party had on Tuesday led Adamu and Omisore to resign from their positions after they were accused of high-handedness and financial mismanagement by some members of the NWC.
However, barely 48 hours after the development, Progressives Governors’ Forum, the umbrella body of the party’s governors, met in Abuja and reportedly agreed to back Ganduje as Adamu’s successor.
Hours after the news went viral, party chieftains and members of the NWC were divided over the plan to make the 73-year-old ex-Kano State governor the substantive chairman of the party.
Some APC NWC members who spoke to The PUNCH said they were opposed to the governors’ plan, insisting that the office had been zoned to the North-Central geopolitical zone. Ganduje is from the North-West Geopolitical zone.
However, a source close to the former Kano State governor confirmed that Ganduje, believed to have been penciled down as a minister, was considered at the eleventh hour as the right candidate to reunite aggrieved members of the National Working Committee and supporters of the party.
“Nobody predicted the choice of Ganduje. In fact, he wasn’t among the top four ex-governors to replace Adamu in the first place.
“We believe President Tinubu must have considered him as a loyal and trusted ally who can turn things around at the party secretariat. It however took the intervention of the Chairman of the Progressives Governors’ Forum, Governor Hope Uzodinma of Imo State and his Kwara State counterpart to persuade Ganduje to accept the assignment,” he said.
The source also noted that the immediate past governor of Kano State had been given a free hand to recommend another loyal member of his camp to occupy his ministerial job.
Ganduje had on Wednesday reportedly visited President Bola Tinubu in the company of three APC governors at the Presidential Villa in Abuja.
On the same Wednesday night, Uzodimma had an emergency meeting with members of the PGF at the Imo State Governor’s Lodge in Asokoro.
The crucial meeting, which started at about 9.54 pm did not finish until 11.12 pm.
In attendance were governors Dapo Abiodun of Ogun State; Umar Bago (Niger); Francis Nwifuru (Ebonyi); Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq (Kwara); Acting Governor of Ondo State, Lucky Ayedatiwa; Fr. Hyacinth Alia (Benue), Uba Sani (Kaduna); Babajide Sanwo-Olu (Lagos); Mai Mala Buni (Yobe); and Dikko Radda (Katsina).
Addressing journalists after the meeting, Uzodimma denied there was crisis within the party, saying the APC governors were in support of Adamu and Omisore’s resignation.
He said, “Their resignations have also been accepted by the leadership of the party. There is now an acting chairman and acting Secretary.”
When reminded that the constitution of APC did not allow caretaker and acting committee, the Imo governor contested it.
Uzodimma, however, maintained a sealed lip over the controversial debate on Ganduje.
Efforts made to reach the National Publicity Secretary of the APC, Felix Morka, proved unsuccessful.
He neither responded to calls nor attended to the text messages sent for clarification.
However, findings revealed that a number of NWC members were opposed to Ganduje’s choice.
The APC National Vice Chairman for North-West, Mallam Salihu Lukman, kicked against replacing Adamu with Ganduje, saying the action might upset the zoning arrangement of the party.
Lukman’s warning came in the wake of speculation that the President might have penciled down the ex-governor as the next chairman of the ruling party.
In a statement issued in Abuja on Thursday titled ‘APC: Way Forward,’ the NWC member said the move would be the height of insensitivity, if it turned out to be true.
The statement read in part, “So far, as things are, only the President and governors blocs are active in the negotiation to produce and engage leaders of the APC. Already, part of the speculations emerging from the governors’ bloc is that Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje is being considered to succeed Sen. Abdullahi Adamu. If this is true, it only suggests insensitivity and taking members of the party for granted. This is without prejudice to the person of Dr. Ganduje.
“This is because such a choice will completely distort the zoning arrangement that informed the present configuration of the leadership of the National Assembly. With the Speaker of House of Representatives and Deputy Senate President coming from North-West and North-Central shut out of consideration, to propose the party’s National Chairman to move to North West from North Central will be unjust and almost a political suicide.”
