Politics

APC Chair: Who succeeds Adamu at Buhari House?

Following the recent resignation of Abdullahi Adamu as the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Taiwo Amodu, in the piece, writes on the intrigues playing out towards emergence of the next APC National Chairman.

Two-term Nasarawa State Governor, Abdullahi Adamu formally resigned last week as the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

Adamu, the third chieftain of the ruling party to fall victim to banana peels at the Buhari House, sent his resignation letter, along with the erstwhile national secretary, Iyiola Omisore.

Barely 48 hours after the deputy National Chairman, (North) Abubakar Kyari, assumed office as acting national chairman, the media was awash with news by the forum of governors on the party platform, the Progressives Governors Forum to present one of their own, former Kano State Governor, Abdullahi Umar Ganduje as substantive national chairman as replacement for the axed Senator Adamu.

Imo State governor and chairman of the PGF, Hope Uzodimma along with Dapo Abiodun and Babajide Sanwo-Olu, governors of Ogun and Lagos states, respectively were reported to have met President Bola Tinubu, at the Aso Rock Villa to secure his buy-in for the Ganduje project.

Checks revealed that last week’s orchestrated plot was not the first time the governors would be schemy to take over the APC national secretriat.

In 2020, a former Edo State governor, Adams Oshiomhole, had lost out in the power game between him and the governors, who instigated the court actions that culminated in his removal by the pronouncements of a Federal High Court and Court of Appeal.

At an emergency National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting held at the Presidential Villa, the former president of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) was replaced by a caretaker committee with Yobe State governor, Malam Mai Mala Buni, as acting chairman.

Rumblings over Ganduje

Investigations revealed that despite the seeming endorsement of Ganduje by President Tinubu and certain governors, his choice is already creating dissafection. National vice chairman (North-West) Salihu Lukman, who led a sustained campaign against the Senator Adamu-led NWC has expressed strong reservations against move to impose the former Kano State Governor.In a statement issued last weekend titled: “APC and Question of Party Building,” Lukman who incidentally was a former Director General of the PGF, cautioned against the choice of the former Kano governor. He said the governors should be halted in their stead to usurp the functions of statutory organs of the party, the national caucus and NEC. Lukman also argued that the choice of Ganduje from Kano State in the North West, would frustrate the existing zoning arrangement in the APC which gave the exalted seat of the party national chairman to the North-Central. “We must therefore appeal to all those sponsoring this campaign to nominate Dr. Ganduje for the position of APC National chairman, especially His Excellency, Hope Uzodinma, Chairman, Progressives Governors Forum to come to order and allow due process within the party to take its rightful course in the selection process of who become the next APC national chairman. Nobody, including the PGF, should be allowed to seek to entrench arbitrariness and injustice in the determination of who emerges as the next national chairman of APC. We must remind everyone, including President Asiwaju Tinubu that so far, the agreed zoning formula in APC seeds the position of national chairman of the party to North-Central. Therefore, the relevant section of APC constitution with respect to filling vacancies should be respected. Anything short of that will amount to illegality and will constitute an act of injustice against members of the party from North-Central. A party envisioned to be progressive must not be associated with that especially if one of our objectives now is to return the APC to its founding vision of emerging as a progressive party.”

Lukman maintained that under no circumstance should the APC National Working Committee (NWC) be subordinated to the whims and caprices of any power bloc in the party, particulalrly the PGF.

North-Central not relenting?

Some chieftains of the party from the North Central may eventually throw in their hats into the ring ahead of the Special Convention to be conveyed after a meeting of the NEC. While allies of President Tinubu are smarting to push for the NEC endorsement of Ganduje and the Senator who represented Osun central in the Ninth Senate, Basiru Ajibola, as national chairman and national secretary to be ratified at convention, some power blocs are pushing for a convention that would ensure that the North-Central brings a replacement to mount the saddle to succeed Senator Adamu from Nasarawa.

Among chieftains being mentioned are the senator representing Niger East, Sani Musa and another former Nasarawa State governor, Tanko Al- Makura.

Both Senators Musa and Al- Makura were contenders for the exalted seat in the March 2022 national convention where Adamu, the favoured candidate of former President Muhammadu Buhari, was declared the consensus chairman.

It could not be confirmed if Senator Musa, who equally lost out in the race for the President of the Senate of the Tenth National Assembly would be willing to engage in another political battle in which the incumbent president is believed to have an anointed choice. Multiple sources said that Al – Makura is being persuaded not to rebuff pressure to join the race.

“If Ganduje becomes a hard sell due to the raging fire over his alleged bribery scandal and the North-Central insistence on producing Abdullahi Adamu, successor, Senator Al Makura may be the beneficiary. He is also Tinubu’s ally,” one of the sources claimed.

READ ALSO FROM NIGERIAN TRIBUNE