BARELY 72 hours to the National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting of the All Progressives Congress (APC), national chairman of the party, Umar Ganduje has intensified lobby of governors to seek their support ahead of the gathering of the statutory organs of the party.
The NEC will be preceded by a national caucus meeting.
Multiple sources revealed that despite claim of a united house, Ganduje is leaving nothing to chance to seek the understanding of stakeholders of the party from the North-Central, particularly the governors.
This is also the backdrop of feelers that certain chieftains of the party from the zone are not relenting in their agitation that the seat of national chairman be returned to the zone which lost out last year, from where the immediate past national chairman, Senator Abdullahi Adamu hails from.
While the South-West, the zone of President Bola Tinubu, secured Senator Basiru Ajibola as a replacement for Senator Iyiola Omisore, who was sacked along with Adamu at the last APC NEC meeting, the North Central lost out with Ganduje from the North-West emerging party chairman.
Chieftains of the party from the North-Central have since then kicked, arguing that they have been offered the short end of the stick in the ruling party.
Raising allegations of marginalisation against the Tinubu administration, chairman of the APC North-Central forum, Mandung Zazzaga argued that the North-West has the office of Speaker and Deputy Senate President, and produced the national chairman of the party, leaving the North-Central politically stranded.
Despite threats to oust Ganduje from the North Central, Nigerian Tribune findings showed that Wednesday’s meeting may be an anti-climax as Ganduje will retain his seat.
A party source within the party national secretariat told the Nigerian Tribune that the agitation from the North-Central is a mere storm in a teacup as Ganduje still enjoys the support of President Tinubu.
“He has secured the support of the Nasarawa State Governor, Abdullahi Sule who is the chairman of the APC North-Central forum. The Imo state governor, Hope Uzodinnma, who is the chairman of the Progressives Governors’ Forum is equally indifferent to the anti-Ganduje bloc in the party,” the source said.
The source added that three of the governors from the North Central, who are in their first term, are wary of being associated openly with the anti-Ganduje sentiment in the region in order not to offend the presidency and jeopardize their second term ambition.
“Even when they do not agree with the open declaration of support for Ganduje by their colleague from Nasarawa State, who recently visited the party national chairman, they cannot come to the open space to express their disapproval,” the source stated.
The former Kano state governor is also expected to meet another power bloc in the party, the forum of APC state chairmen, ahead of NEC, to seek their support.
Chairman of the APC, Lagos State chapter, Cornelius Ojelabi, who is the chairman of the forum of 36 States chairmen and the FCT, could not be reached for comments.
He neither picked up his calls nor responded to text messages sent by the Nigerian Tribune reporter.
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