CPC, N/Central jostle for APC national chairman after Ganduje exit

CPC, N/Central jostle for APC national chairman after Ganduje exit

Barely three days after Dr Abdullahi Umar Ganduje stepped down as national chairman of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) bloc within the party has begun pushing to fill the vacancy.

Multiple sources within the bloc told Daily Trust yesterday that the CPC faction is agitating for the chairmanship in the name of fairness and justice.

Ganduje resigned on Friday via a letter submitted to the party’s National Secretary, Senator Ajibola Bashiru, citing ill health. His resignation was formally confirmed in a statement on Saturday by APC National Publicity Secretary, Barrister Felix Morka.

However, credible sources told Daily Trust that a key reason Ganduje resigned was that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu had finalised plans for the defection of Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, a former governor of Kano State and longtime rival of Ganduje, into the APC. While serving as governor, Ganduje was known to have virtually barred Kwankwaso from entering Kano.

Since his resignation, the APC has witnessed renewed calls from the North Central, particularly the CPC bloc, for the chairmanship to be zoned to the region.

Daily Trust reports that the APC was formed in 2013 through the merger of legacy parties including the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP), Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), a faction of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), and the new Peoples Democratic Party (nPDP).

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Recently, some CPC members criticised the APC leadership for allegedly sidelining the bloc. Former Kaduna State governor Nasir El-Rufai, a key CPC figure, recently quit the APC in protest and joined the Social Democratic Party (SDP) ahead of the 2027 general elections.

Yesterday, the North Central APC Forum endorsed former Nasarawa State governor, Senator Tanko Al-Makura, the only CPC governor from 2011 to 2019, to succeed Ganduje.

In a statement signed by the forum’s chairman, Alhaji Saleh Zazzaga, the group said its endorsement followed wide consultations among stakeholders in the region. It argued that Al-Makura hails from the same state as former chairman Abdullahi Adamu, who was forced to resign before completing his tenure, and that the CPC bloc remains the only major legacy group yet to produce a national chairman.

The forum also described Al-Makura as a loyal party man who had accepted the consensus candidacy of Adamu during the 2022 APC National Convention without dissent. It said he possesses the clout, loyalty, and experience necessary to lead the party, and enjoys respect among serving and former governors alike.

Zazzaga added that Al-Makura has handled key party assignments in the past, giving him deep insight into the party’s workings nationwide.

Speaking to Daily Trust yesterday, a North East APC chieftain, Barrister Abdullahi Jalo, said the chairmanship should go to the North Central and the CPC bloc, noting that Al-Makura was widely tipped to take over from Ganduje. He described the agitation as “real and legitimate,” adding that “the APC will not make a mistake.”

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In a separate interview, elder statesman and former presidential candidate, Chief Chekwas Okorie, also backed the North Central, saying the region had long felt marginalised since Adamu was replaced by Ganduje.

“The North-Central has not been quiet in expressing their alienation from that office. When Ganduje took over, it felt like a sidelining of the region. It’s only fair to return the chairmanship there,” he said.

Similarly, members of the defunct CPC in the 7th National Assembly held a meeting in Abuja, calling on President Tinubu to address what they described as continued marginalisation of their bloc within the APC. At a press conference, former House of Representatives member Aliyu Gebi said the CPC group had been unfairly excluded from party leadership and deserved proper recognition.

“We cannot sit here and pretend marginalisation doesn’t exist,” Gebi said. “We were thrown out of a vehicle that we created.”

Others at the meeting included Senator Ibrahim Musa, Hon. Sanusi Aliyu, Hon. Mohammed Tukur, Senator Ahmed Sani, Hon. Ibrahim Chachangi, Hon. Yusuf Bala, and the APC National Vice Chairman (North West), Hon. Garuba Datti.

CPC, N/Central jostle for APC national chairman after Ganduje exit

Daily Trust