•Al-Makura, Akume emerge as front-runners to succeed APC Chairman

By Omeiza Ajayi

Dr Abdullahi Ganduje’s abrupt resignation as the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress APC, on Friday, was not, as officially stated, due to ill health, but rather it was a result of pressure from President Bola Tinubu, multiple sources told Sunday Vanguard yesterday.

While the specific reasons for the alleged rift between President Tinubu and Ganduje remained unclear as of last night, it is understood that the president had privately conveyed to Ganduje his expectation for him to step down by Monday.

Ganduje’s decision to resign before the stipulated Monday deadline reportedly caught the Presidency off guard.

“We anticipated his resignation by Monday. The intention was for him to use the weekend to quietly remove his personal belongings from the National Secretariat, away from the prying eyes of the media”, a source said.

“However, it seems he was displeased and chose to tender his resignation immediately”.

Investigations by Sunday Vanguard suggest that efforts are now underway to select a replacement for Ganduje from the North-Central geopolitical zone, the region to which the party chairmanship was originally zoned.

This development follows President Tinubu’s controversial decision in 2023 to appoint Ganduje, from the North-West, as Chairman after the removal of Senator Abdullahi Adamu.

Zoning

That move had bypassed the established zoning arrangement and drawn criticism from various groups in the North-Central.

Among those reportedly vying for the top party post is Senator Umar Tanko Al-Makura, a former Governor of Nasarawa State.

However, reports further suggested that influential party figures are now considering Senator George Akume, the current Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), as a potential candidate.