Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, a former governor of Kano State, is expected to become the national chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Platinum Times Nigeria reliably learned last night.
Ganduje, 73, met with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and three APC-affiliated governors while he was yesterday in the Presidential Villa in Abuja.
In the absence of any last-minute adjustments, the former governor will be designated as the ruling party’s acting national chairman while the party convention is held later in the year.
Recall that this newspaper was the only one to publish in-depth on Senator Abdullahi Adamu’s resignation as the party’s national chairman on Monday. Following a scheme to remove him, Adamu submitted his resignation on Sunday. Iyiola Omisore, the national secretary, has also resigned.
Senator Abubakar Kyari, who was appointed as the acting national chairman on Monday, will be replaced by Ganduje. Kyari, a native of Borno State, serves as the party’s vice national chairman in the North.
On his way back from the African Union (AU) conference in Kenya on Monday, President Tinubu reportedly expressed interest in appointing Ganduje as party chairman.
In order to secure the support of his colleagues and other important stakeholders, the governor of Imo State, Hope Uzodinma, who serves as the chairman of the Progressive Governors Forum (PGF), was called.
On Tuesday, Uzodinma and Ganduje met. Yesterday, they also met with President Tinubu, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, the governor of Lagos State, and Dapo Abiodun, the governor of Ogun State.
A source in the president claimed that Ganduje’s selection was finalized at the meeting. After then, the vice president Kashim Shettima met with the president, three governors, and Ganduje.
“The issue of making Ganduje the party chairman started on Monday when the chairman of the PGF met with him in Abuja,” a source claimed. The former governor of Kano State was informed by Uzodinma of the president’s plan to name him party chairman.
He said that yesterday, when the president and Ganduje met with the three governors, the matter had been resolved.
“All signs point to the problem being resolved. Before the party convention, where his position would be validated, he would first be declared the interim national chairman, the source continued.
With this, the party’s coveted seat has left Senator Adamu’s home region of North Central, where his resignation sparked lobbying by party chieftains in that region.