Ahead of the July 24 National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting of the All Progressives Congress (APC), the party’s stakeholders from the North Central zone have commenced nationwide consultations on who to replace the immediate past national chairman, Dr Abdullahi Ganduje.

Sequel to the resignation of Ganduje last Friday, the National Working Committee (NWC) of APC fixed the NEC meeting of the party for July 24 to pick a new national chairman.

Consequently, the group, under the auspices of Concerned North Central Stakeholders of the APC, is pushing for the restoration of the party’s national chairmanship to the geopolitical zone which held the post.

The convener of Concerned North Central Stakeholders of APC,  Mohammed Etsu, who disclosed this development in Abuja yesterday, said they were engaging party elders, elected officials, youth and women groups, and strategic across board.

Etsu, a former APC national chairmanship aspirant, said the enhancement was to arrive at a credible, unifying and visionary candidate who reflects the ideals of the founding fathers of the party and who can rebuild internal cohesion and electoral strength ahead of 2027.

He said the stakeholders’ position was guided by the urgent need to restore confidence in the national leadership of the party and support President Bola Tinubu in delivering his Renewed Hope Agenda without internal distractions.

Etsu said the outcome of the stakeholders’ consultations would be presented to the president, NWC as well as NEC of the APC in due course and appealed to all stakeholders across the country to support the effort for the party’s stabilisation and national interest.

“The Concerned North Central Stakeholders of the All Progressives Congress (APC) wishes to inform the general public, members of the APC family and relevant leadership organs of the party that we have officially commenced broad-based consultations across the North Central geopolitical zone and other parts of the country.

“This initiative follows the recent resignation of the former national chairman of our great party, His Excellency Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, whose tenure came to an end amid calls for rebalancing and equity within the party’s leadership structure.

“As stakeholders committed to the progress, unity and sustainability of the APC, we believe this moment presents a historic opportunity for the North Central zone to reclaim the position of national chairman in the spirit of fairness, zoning balance, and recognition of the zone’s consistent loyalty and contributions to the growth of the party since inception.

“We assure all party faithful and Nigerians that the North Central zone is ready and capable of producing a consensus-based, experienced, and nationally respected figure for the chairmanship role,” he stated.