BY TONY EZIMAKOR

As the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) begins the search for the replacement of its National Chairman, Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, the North-Central zone of the party has returned with its agitation to reclaim the office for the zone, as was earlier agreed before the 2022 National Convention.

Ganduje, who became the APC National Chairman after the sacking of Abdullahi Adamu following the 2023 presidential election over his alleged non-support for President Bola Tinubu, surprisingly resigned from the office on Thursday, reportedly after a meeting with the President.

Determined to reclaim the position which was earlier zoned to them, the North-Central All Progressives Congress (APC) Forum has endorsed former Governor of Nasarawa State, Tanko Al-Makura, for the position of National Chairman of the party.

Recall that Al-Makura was one of the favorite candidates during the contest in 2022, before then-President Muhammadu Buhari announced his endorsement of Abdullahi Adamu and asked all other candidates to withdraw for him.

The APC North-Central zone, in a statement released in Abuja on Sunday by its Chairman, Saleh Zazzaga, said the endorsement followed extensive consultations among APC stakeholders in the North-Central.

In the statement titled ‘Why Al-Makura Deserves to Be APC National Chairman’, the Forum noted that Al-Makura is from the North-Central, particularly Nasarawa State, where the removed former National Chairman, Abdullahi Adamu, also hails from.

The Forum further observed that Al-Makura is from the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) bloc, which is one of the three legacy parties that merged to form the APC. It further noted that among the three legacy parties – the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), and the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) – the CPC bloc is the only one that has not held the APC chairmanship position.

“Senator Tanko Al-Makura was a two-term governor whose clout and experience are pluses, and both former and sitting governors will see him as one of their own. He was a former senator who was seen as part and parcel of the legislature.

“He was among the chairmanship aspirants who accepted without grudges the consensus option that threw up Abdullahi Adamu as National Chairman during the APC National Convention in 2022.

“His loyalty to the APC and Mr. President is not in doubt,” the statement said.

Further stating reasons for endorsing Al-Makura for the position of APC National Chairman, the Forum pointed out that “he has discharged critical party assignments in the country that gave him firsthand ideas and intrinsic knowledge of the party nationally.

“He has very rich experience and knowledge of political activities, as he was Youth Leader (Plateau State) in the National Party of Nigeria (NPN) – 1979; State Secretary (Plateau State) in the National Republican Convention – 1989; founding member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) – 1999; governor on the platform of the CPC – 2011; pioneer member and signatory to the merger that formed the APC – 2013; and APC senator – 2019,” the statement added.

The North-Central APC Forum further noted that Al-Makura was among the CPC bloc stakeholders who stood by the APC and President Bola Tinubu when some members wanted to pull out of the party and join the opposition coalition earlier in 2025.

“He is a bridge builder and an advocate of inclusivity, as he relates with the disability community that has over 20 million people, as he is also a person living with a disability,” the Forum said.