Following the resignation of the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, Umar Ganduje, on Friday, the North-Central zone of the party has thrown its hat into the ring for the position.

Ganduje’s exit on Friday has sparked interest with stakeholders in Kogi, Benue, Nasarawa and other North-Central states demanding that the office be zoned to the region.

Although no official announcement has been made, insiders said the former Kano State governor had come under mounting pressure from stakeholders from the North Central region, who have long agitated for the chairmanship seat to return to their zone.

Ganduje was appointed APC chairman in August 2023 following the resignation of Senator Abdullahi Adamu, who hails from the North-Central zone.

His emergence stirred controversy at the time, with many North-Central party faithful voicing their displeasure.

The APC Deputy National Chairman (North), Bukar Dalori, assumed office as the acting national chairman and is expected to preside over the affairs of the ruling party till December.

However, the two factional groups of the APC in Benue State argued for the office to be zoned to the North-Central.

Daniel Ihomun, the state publicity secretary of the party led by Austin Agada and loyal to the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, George Akume, said the zoning arrangement favoured the North-Central.

He said, “The national chairmanship of APC was originally zoned to the North-Central, which made Adamu from Nasarawa State occupy the position but the leadership of the party has the right to decide where it should come from, and with the voluntary resignation of Gaduje, this will be done as soon as the President returns.”

In the same vein, James Orgunga, the state’s publicity secretary of the faction loyal to Governor Hyacinth Alia, said the North-Central, going by the party’s zoning arrangement, should produce the national chairman of the party.

Staking a claim to the vacant office, stakeholders in Nasarawa State, including the All Progressives Congress Forum, called on the party to consider a former governor of the state, Tanko Al-Makura, for the position.

In a statement in Abuja on Sunday, the Chairman of the Forum, Alhaji Saleh Zazzaga, said the endorsement followed extensive consultations among APC stakeholders in the North-Central region.

Titled ‘Why Al-Makura Deserves to be APC National Chairman,’ the statement highlighted that Al-Makura hailed from Nasarawa State in the North-Central region, the same state as Adamu, the ex-chairman.

Al-Makura’s endorsement is coming 24 hours after the North-Central APC Forum issued a statement demanding that the position of the national chairman be returned to the region.

According to the statement, under the APC’s zoning arrangement, the North-Central was allocated the national chairman position, which led to the emergence of Adamu as the APC national chairman during the party’s National Convention in March 2022.

However, Adamu resigned in July 2023 without completing his tenure, paving the way for Ganduje’s appointment in August 2023.

“After extensive deliberations among stakeholders in the North-Central region, the North-Central APC Forum has decided to endorse Senator Tanko Al-Makura for the position of APC National Chairman,” the statement read.

“This is in furtherance of our demand that the position of National Chairman should return to the North-Central in line with the APC’s zoning arrangement.”

Also speaking, Kogi State APC chairman, Abdullah Bello, said he would be happy if the chairmanship position was awarded to the North-Central.

 “If the position is given to the North Central, which is my zone, I will be happy but the decision to do that does not rest with me or members in Kogi State but with the President, who reserves the privilege of nominating a candidate of his choice for ratification by the Central Working Committee of the party.

“It’s not a question about whether or not I support the calls, of course, I will be happy if the zone gets it, but it’s not for me as the state chairman to decide,” he said.

The Kwara state chairman of the APC, Sunday Fagbemi, noted that the choice of the new national chairman of the party should be left for the National Working Committee of the party to decide.

Fagbemi, who declined to speak on the choice of the successor to Ganduje, said the party’s NWC was capable of handling the matter.

“They know what is good for the party and what will bring peace and stability to the party, but I don’t have an opinion on the choice of the new chairman of the party,” he said.

Speaking in the same vein, the Kaduna State Chairman of the APC, Air Commodore Emmanuel Jekada (retd.), said the decision on which zone produces the next chairman rests solely with the party’s leadership.

 Jekada, in an interview with our correspondent on Sunday, emphasised that while the party’s constitution provides guidelines, the ultimate decision lies with the leaders.

“It’s not for me to decide. I think the leader of the party decides. He is the one who knows where he thinks it will work for him. If they want to follow the Constitution, it’s there in the Constitution. But that doesn’t prevent the leaders from deciding, because sometimes, you are the one wearing the shoes, and you alone will know where it pinches you,” he stated.

The APC chairman in Sokoto State, Isa Achida, explained that the party did not have any different intentions from those of the national headquarters of the party.

“We don’t have any interest in talking about such things. We are very comfortable with the decision of the party at the national level. Anywhere the chairman is zoned to, we would support, we are for the party and nothing more.”

 Also, the Kebbi State chapter of the party has expressed its total commitment to the party’s decision regarding the choice of the next chairman.

 A chieftain of the party, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the party has not discussed anything related to the issue.

Similarly, the Zamfara state chapter declared it would abide by the decision of the national Secretariat of the party regarding Ganguje’s successor.

In a telephone interview with The PUNCH, the Publicity Secretary of the party, Yusuf Idris, said the party was not happy with Ganduje’s resignation.

“We are not happy with the sudden resignation of our national party chairman, Dr Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, and we are not saying that his successor must come from Zamfara State.

 “We are ready to accept whoever is going to succeed him as our new leader, provided that such a person would use his position to promote peaceful coexistence and progress within the party. We will respect the national Secretariat of the party regarding the appointment of a new national chairman of our great party.”

 A party chieftain in Kano, Alhaji Alhassan Yaryasa, lauded Ganduje for relinquishing his position, noting that it was the best decision taken by him.

 He alleged a plot to disgrace him out of office if he had refused to agree with what the Presidency wanted.

 “We knew there was a plan to bring Senator Rabi’u Kwankwaso into the APC and possibly be running mate of President Bola Tinubu in 2027. Whatever the case may be, the decision taken by Ganduje to resign is the best option for him before they disgrace him out of office,” he said.

Yaryasa, who is also a former Coordinator of the Tinubu Camping Organisation for Kano South, said the former APC national chairman deserved to be respected and commended for strengthening the party at both the state and national levels.

 “Don’t forget Ganduje was able to bring key politicians from other parties into the APC, such as senators and Reps members who recently defected from other parties and joined the APC. So, he should leave the position honourably before they force him to resign and disgrace him,” he said.

 On whether the chairmanship position should return to the Northwest geo-political zone, the APC chieftain called on the party and its stakeholders to follow due process to ensure justice and fairness.

 “Whichever zone is supposed to produce the national chairman of the party should be given the chance to do so. This is necessary to ensure fairness,” he added.