Party politics: How Ganduje was forced to resign

Indications have emerged that Abdullahi Umar Ganduje was compelled to resign as national chairman of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).

Ganduje, a former governor of Kano State, reportedly tendered his resignation letter yesterday, citing health reasons.

However, reliable sources, who spoke to Weekend Trust, linked Ganduje’s resignation to permutations ahead of the 2027 presidential election.

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The sources confirmed that the head of one of the security agencies was at Ganduje’s residence around 2 a.m. on Friday to demand his resignation letter.

“We are all shocked. We didn’t see it coming,” said a source close to the former chairman.

The source also disclosed that a governor from the North East who has been very active in the party and a prominent politician from the North West who is very close to the president visited Ganduje yesterday “apparently to console him.”

Meanwhile, earlier yesterday, Ganduje led members of the party’s National Working Committee, NEC,  on a condolence visit to the Niger State Governor, Mohammed Umaru Bago at the state’s liaison office in Abuja, over the devastating Mokwa flood and bandit attacks in Mariga LGA on the state.

The visit is believed to be the last offcial function he performed as national chairman of the APC.

Kwankwaso’s expected return to APC a deciding factor

Regarding the motive behind the move, one of the sources linked it to reports that the leader of the Kwankwasiyya Movement, Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, whom Tinubu is perceived to have long courted, was considering joining the opposition coalition led by former Vice President Atiku Abubakar.

“You know Kwankwaso gave the president one condition for rejoining the APC: Ganduje’s removal as national chairman. With Ganduje in charge, Kwankwaso couldn’t assume party leadership in Kano,” the source said.

“We learnt that the president was informed that Kwankwaso had been approached by the Atiku-led coalition and was already considering the offer. That may have triggered Ganduje’s removal,” the source added.

Another source, who also confirmed the Kwankwaso factor, said the upcoming APC congress likely influenced the decision. According to him, Tinubu may have realised that retaining Ganduje would make it harder to bring Kwankwaso and other political heavyweights from various states into the APC. Without state structures to offer, these figures would be unlikely to join.

The North Central factor

Beyond the Kwankwaso dynamics, Ganduje’s tenure was also said to have faced sustained opposition from the party’s stakeholders in the North Central where his predecessor, Senator Abdullahi Adamu, hails from.

Adamu, a former governor of Nasarawa State, was reportedly forced to resign after the 2023 general elections. He was believed not to have not supported Tinubu during the APC presidential primaries. He was said to have backed the then Senate president, Ahmad Lawan, as the consensus candidate. Tinubu ultimately defeated Lawan and others to clinch the ticket.

After the elections, Adamu resigned, paving the way for Ganduje, a key Tinubu campaigner, to assume the chairmanship of the party. But since then, North Central stakeholders have demanded that the position return to their zone, rather than remain in the North West where Ganduje comes from.

With Ganduje’s exit, attention has shifted to the North Central for his replacement, with the spotlight on three prominent figures: Senator Umaru Tanko Al-Makura, Senator George Akume and Senator Mohammed Sani Musa, also known as 313.

A founding APC member and former governor of Nasarawa State, Al-Makura is viewed as Tinubu’s loyalist. He was believed to have played a central role in the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) bloc during the 2013 merger that birthed the APC.

Senator Akume, who is the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) is seen as a loyalist and associate of President Tinubu, having served as governor of Benue State the same time the president served as governor of Lagos State.

Senator Musa, who represents Niger East Senatorial District and had previously contested the party’s chairmanship, is also a close ally of the president. Musa is the chairman of the Senate Committee on Finance.

However, analysts say the trio face a structural challenge: the fact that APC governors currently lead their respective states. Since governors are traditionally recognised as party leaders in their states, this dynamics may complicate the trio’s chances resigned, paving the way for Ganduje, a key Tinubu campaigner, to assume the chairmanship of the party. But since then, North Central stakeholders have demanded that the position return to their zone, rather than remain in the North West where Ganduje comes from.

With Ganduje’s exit, attention has shifted to the North Central for his replacement, with the spotlight on three prominent figures: Senator Umaru Tanko Al-Makura, Senator George Akume and Senator Mohammed Sani Musa, also known as 313.

A founding APC member and former governor of Nasarawa State, Al-Makura is viewed as Tinubu’s loyalist. He was believed to have played a central role in the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) bloc during the 2013 merger that birthed the APC.

Senator Akume, who is the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) is seen as a loyalist and associate of President Tinubu, having served as governor of Benue State the same time the president served as governor of Lagos State.

Senator Musa, who represents Niger East Senatorial District and had previously contested the party’s chairmanship, is also a close ally of the president. Musa is the chairman of the Senate Committee on Finance.

However, analysts say the trio face a structural challenge: the fact that APC governors currently lead their respective states. Since governors are traditionally recognised as party leaders in their states, this dynamics may complicate the trio’s chances.

Dalori may emerge acting chair as APC mulls emergency NEC meeting

Barring any last-minute change of decision, the Deputy National Chairman (North) of the party, Hon. Abubakar Kyari Dalori, is expected to assume control of the party’s national leadership in acting capacity, following Ganduje’s resignation. He is likely to remain in the position until the party’s national convention scheduled for November.

APC’s National Director of Publicity, Bala Ibrahim, told Daily Trust last night that he was not aware of Ganduje’s resignation. However, he explained that constitutionally, if the office of national chairman becomes vacant, the deputy national chairman from the same region would automatically take over in acting capacity.

“So, as things stand today, if indeed Dr Abdullahi Umar Ganduje has resigned, the deputy national chairman (North) will step in as acting chairman. That is Dalori. But that’s if he has truly resigned as you’ve said. I’m not confirming to you that Dr Ganduje has resigned,” Ibrahim said.

Weekend Trust also gathered that an emergency meeting of the APC’s National Executive Committee (NEC) was being planned to be held in the coming days.

At the meeting, an interim arrangement may be formalised, pending the ratification or election of a substantive chairman at the November convention.

Party insiders said consultations were ongoing and might lead to the emergence of a consensus candidate in order to avoid divisive contests and internal fragmentation.

How successive APC chairmen exited

Weekend Trust reports that since the formation of the APC in 2013, the party has had six national chairmen, most of whom left office under controversial circumstances.

The six chairmen are Chief Bisi Akande (2013–2014), Chief John Odigie-Oyegun (2014–2018), Comrade Adams Oshiomhole (2018–2020), Mai Mala Buni (2020–2022), Senator Abdullahi Adamu (2022–2023) and Dr Abdullahi Umar Ganduje (2023–2025).

Abdullahi Adamu’s leadership faced sustained criticisms. He was accused of high-handedness, including unilateral dismissal of party directors and replacing them with loyalists; an allegation he denied publicly.

Amid mounting internal tensions and leadership disputes, Adamu eventually resigned via a letter addressed to President Tinubu.

Oshiomhole, a former governor of Edo State and ex-president of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), became APC chairman in June 2018 with the backing of the then President Muhammadu Buhari and key party figures.

But his tenure was marred by factional conflicts and internal crises. On  June 25, 2020, the NEC dissolved the Oshiomhole-led National Working Committee (NWC), alleging abuse of office and failure to unite party interests.

Following Oshiomhole’s removal, the NEC appointed Yobe State Governor Mai Mala Buni as chairman of the National Caretaker/Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee.

The committee was initially given six months from June 2020 to conduct a national convention, but the timeline was extended in December 2020 by another six months to allow time for reconciliation among aggrieved members.

While the Buni-led committee succeeded in attracting several high-profile defectors to the APC, it was widely criticised for failing to deliver a timely convention. The mounting pressure led to the convention from which Adamu emerged as chairman.

Oyegun, another former governor of Edo State, was the APC’s first substantive national chairman following its registration by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

He succeeded Bisi Akande after intense negotiations and internal horse-trading among the party’s various legacy factions.