North-Central stakeholders takes decision on backing Ganduje to continue as APC national chairman

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The North-Central All Progressives Congress, or APC, Forum has voted in favor of Dr. Abdullahi Ganduje as the party’s national chairman.

Following an Abuja stakeholders’ meeting on Wednesday, the Forum announced: “The APC leadership under Dr Abdullahi Ganduje has been winning elections, including recent governorship elections in Ondo and Edo states, and also receiving decampees from other political parties on a daily basis, showing that party has become stronger.

“No team will want to change a coach who has been recording victories and winning trophies.”

The APC Forum went on to say that Ganduje is the best candidate to lead the party in the general election in 2027 based on his past performance.

In accordance with the party’s zoning arrangement, which gave the area the job of national chairman, the APC Forum halted its campaign to remove Ganduje and replace him with a member from the North-Central. This was approximately five months ago.

After the position was relinquished to the North-Central, former Nasarawa State Governor Abdullahi Adamu was elected APC National Chairman during the party’s national conference in March 2022.

In July 2023, Adamu left the post before serving out his term, and Ganduje, a former governor of North-West Kano State, was named to succeed him.

Through its leader, Alhaji Saleh Zazzaga, the Forum filed a petition requesting a federal high court to fire the national chairman, insisting that the North-Central must finish Adamu’s term. However, the lawsuit was unsuccessful because the court dismissed it.

The North-Central APC Forum finally said on October 16, 2024, that it would no longer demand Ganduje’s dismissal.

“Our activism is based on our feelings that the national chairman should have been retained in the North-Central zone after the exit of Senator Abdullahi Adamu,” the APC Forum stated when announcing the demand’s suspension, that it has no personal grievances against Ganduje.

\Although there were rumors that Ganduje would be removed as APC national chairman after his recent appointment as Chairman of the Board of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, or FAAN, he has now gained the support of North-Central stakeholders to remain in the role.

Alhaji Saleh Zazzaga, the leader of the North-Central APC Forum and a member of the APC presidential campaign committee for the 2023 election, said in a statement released on Wednesday that the party’s leadership under Ganduje has been taking the zone’s interests into consideration.

“Following consultations with leaders of the North-Central and other stakeholders, and after an appraisal of issues concerning the zone, the North-Central APC Forum has given a passmark on the national chairman Dr. Abdullahi Ganduje and we are asking President Bola Tinubu that he should be allowed to continue to lead the party.

“Our position is further informed by the realization that the North-Central has gotten favourable results in about 80 percent of the demands and agitations presented by the zone. We understand that we can’t get 100 percent of all we demand or agitate for in a political party and we don’t want to be seen as ungrateful people.

“We had long agitated and demanded the the North-Central must produce the national chairman of the APC but having suspended the agitation in the interest of the peace and progress of the party, we also understand that the North-Central cannot have the SGF and APC national chairman at the same time,” parts of the statement read.

The APC Forum further stated that the North-Central received important cabinet appointments from the Tinubu administration, which they claimed would not have been feasible without the backing of the Ganduje-led party leadership.

Key ministries led by North-Central ministers were identified in the statement. These included the Ministry of Justice, which was led by Prince Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, the Attorney General of the Federation, from Kwara; the Ministry of Information and National Orientation, which was led by Mohammed Idris from Niger State; the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction, which was led by Prof. Nentawe Goshwe Yilwatda from Plateau; the Ministry of Women Affairs, which was led by Imaan Sulaiman-Ibrahim from Nasarawa; the Ministry of Special Duties, Intergovernmental Affairs, which was led by Zephaniah Bitrus Jisalo from the Federal Capital Territory; and the Ministry of Water Resources and Sanitation, which was led by Prof. Joseph Utsev from Benue.

The statement added, “These are in addition to the high profile position of Secretary to the Government of the Federation, SGF, given to the North-Central, with Senator George Akume of Benue State holding the office.

“We also appreciate the role of the APC leadership under Dr. Abdullahi Ganduje in the creation of the North-Central Development Commission, which Mr President recently signed into law following the passage of the bill by the National Assembly, which comprise a majority of APC members.

“The North-Central APC Forum seriously agitated for the speedy establishment of the Commission and we are grateful to Mr President and the national leadership of the party for listening to our cry for justice when the zone was initially left out of the commissions captured under the Ministry of Regional Development.

“We want Dr. Abdullahi Ganduje to continue his good job as national chairman, and also continue supporting the aspirations of the North-Central.”

The statement also noted that important infrastructure projects have been located in the area as a result of North-Central stakeholders’ agitation, with federal routes like the Suleja-Minna-Bida road, Akwanga-Keffi-Plateau-Gombe and highway currently receiving attention.

However, Ganduje was asked by the North-Central stakeholders to include the region’s elders.

“We also appreciate the North-Central Governors Forum chairman, Abdullahi Sule of Nasarawa State for carrying the entire zone along, thereby strengthening the APC in the zone,” the statement added.

The APC North-Central Forum pledged to give President Bola Tinubu four million votes in the 2027 election as a way of expressing their appreciation.

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