Some departures are dramatic. Others are delayed. Abdullahi Ganduje’s was both a curious resignation from the apex of Nigeria’s ruling party, followed days later by a soft landing on a freshly padded tarmac.

Recently, He stepped down as National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, citing “urgent personal reasons.” The speculation came quickly: rifts with the presidency, shifting political winds in Kano, or perhaps just a long-overdue return to less combative ground. No sooner had the ink dried than his next destination was announced—Chairman of the Board at the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN).

Call it a transfer of altitude. From party helm to airport board, the former Kano governor may no longer steer the party’s national machinery, but he now presides over Nigeria’s airways infrastructure. A different kind of turbulence, perhaps.

Supporters insist there’s no fallout. “No misunderstanding, no bad blood,” said Kamal Sarki, head of Tinubu Care and Concern, a local APC affiliate. The group insists Ganduje’s resignation was voluntary, and that opposition forces are spinning fiction from routine party dynamics. “The President and Ganduje remain aligned,” they say. “There is no crack in the ceiling.”

Sceptics might raise a brow or two. After all, voluntary exits are rarely this timed, and political grace is seldom dispensed without some calculus. But in Nigeria’s ever-choreographed game of chairs, a board seat at FAAN isn’t a fall from grace. It’s a quieter corner with respectable cushions.

For Ganduje, who once stood at the noisy intersection of party strategy and regional power play, the FAAN appointment offers less limelight, more legacy. For now, his allies say the realignment is a signal of continuity, not exile. “Enemies will be disappointed,” they warn. And maybe they will. In the Nigerian political sky, even a cloudy descent can end with a polished runway.