Shettima’s fate unsure as Ganduje loses out in APC power play

•Dalori from Borno to act as national chairman

THE power game ahead of the 2027 general election has started to claim casualties in the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), as former Kano State governor, Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, has been asked to resign from his position as the National Chairman of the party.

By virtue of APC’s constitution, its deputy national chairman (North), Bukar Dalori from Borno State, will preside in acting capacity until the party elects a new chairman.

Party sources revealed that the Presidency has conveyed to Ganduje its decision to dislodge him from the party’s national secretariat.

Ganduje’s exit has complicated Vice President Kashim Shettima’s chances of making the 2027 ticket with President Bola Tinubu.

His fate became more acutely unsure with reports of a jostle for the vice president’s slot by his party members from the North West.

While some sources say former Kano State governor and national leader of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, might be in contention, other sources point at APC top shots from the same North West as possible replacement for Shettima if the post is eventually zoned to the North West.

There was no official pronouncement as of press time on Friday on the ouster of the Ganduje, but it was gathered that his aides stormed Buhari House, the APC national secretariat, on Friday, to remove his personal belongings from his office.

There was neither confirmation nor denial of the news from the APC National Publicity Secretary, Felix Morka.

National Secretary of the party, Senator Ajibola Bashiru, was sighted at the secretariat, but he declined comments.

A member of the APC National Working Committee (NWC) who spoke with Saturday Tribune in confidence, however, confirmed the news of Ganduje’s ouster.

“That is what we are hearing,” he said.

Asked what the reason for his removal could be, the party chieftain said President Bola Tinubu must have been overwhelmed with complaints over the excesses of Ganduje.

“Tinubu has several times dismissed complaints on Ganduje’s excesses and alleged infractions under his watch. It seems his cups are full,” he said.

The last straw

The NWC member revealed that the President was peeved over the recent North East stakeholders meeting of the party in Gombe, Gombe State, which the Presidency noted was badly managed by Ganduje.

Saturday Tribune learnt that stakeholders at the meeting were divided over the endorsement of Vice President Kashim Shettima as President Tinubu’s running mate in 2027.

But there was a dramatic twist at the meeting when the National Vice Chairman, North East, Mustapha Salihu, mounted the podium and declared that the choice of the running mate rests squarely with the President.

He insisted that the zone could not impose a running mate on Tinubu who had just secured the zonal endorsement as the consensus presidential candidate.

Other NWC members in attendance were Ganduje and Deputy National Chairman (North), Bukar Dalori, alongside three serving governors, zonal officers and federal lawmakers.

The source revealed that the Presidency was not happy that the meeting let the cat out of the bag too early; that Shettima, incidentally from Borno State in the North East, will be sacrificed in the unfolding power game in the ruling party.

Tinubu is reportedly considering taking the Vice President slot away from the North East to the North West. This consideration, it was gathered, informed the removal of Ganduje.

Certain chieftains of the party in the North East are already positioning themselves for the VP position.

Multiple party sources revealed that the incumbent National Security Adviser, Malam Nuhu Ribadu from Adamawa State and two serving governors in the zone are eyeing the number two seat.

Who succeeds Ganduje?

Apart from the move to take the slot vice presidency to the North West, the Presidency, according to sources, is trying to return the seat of the party’s National Chairman to the North Central which feels shortchanged in the existing power distribution in the ruling party.

It will be recalled that after the forced resignation in July 2023 of the duo of Senators Abdullahi Adamu and Iyiola Omisore as the National Chairman and National Secretary, respectively, the North Central felt the party’s top job would be retained in the zone. This was not to be. 

The APC National Executive Council (NEC) meeting held in August 2023, which threw up Ganduje and Ajibola Bashiru, as the National Chairman and National Secretary, respectively, threw spanner in the existing zoning arrangement as the North Central was left in the lurch.

While Osun State in the South West retained the slot of the National Secretary with Senator Bashiru as replacement for Iyiola Omisore, the North Central was taken aback that Adamu from Nasarawa State in the zone was replaced with Umar Ganduje from North West.

At the APC national secretariat on Friday, speculation was rife that a chieftain of the defunct Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), former governor of Nasarawa State and ally of President Tinubu, Senator Tanko Al-Makura, had been penciled in as Ganduje’s successor.

Investigation revealed that Senator Al-Makura in recent times has been galvansing the support of the CPC power bloc in the APC for Tinubu’s second term ambition.

READ ALSO: 2027: Crisis deepens between Gov Idris, APC chieftain Nataro over Shettima