Following the surprise resignation of Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje as National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), political permutations within the ruling party have been on the rise, with increasing speculations that Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso could be on his way to the party, MUK TV has learned.
An APC chieftain who spoke under the condition of anonymity told The Gazette that Ganduje’s exit may have been inevitable, given the unresolved controversy over the party’s zoning arrangement and internal power dynamics.
“Ganduje might have been forced to resign because a self-resignation of this instance is not expected. Yet it is not surprising because that seat is very hot. We know what has happened to his successors, so it is hard to see a Chairman who completes his tenure as APC Chairman. We saw what happened to Abdullahi Adamu, Oshiomhole, and others,” the source said.
He added that Ganduje, a former governor of Kano State, may have been a casualty of the unresolved zoning crisis in the APC.
“It is possible that Ganduje might have been consumed by the zoning crisis because that position belonged to North Central before Ganduje was confirmed. It does not belong to North West,” he stated.
While Ganduje hails from the North West, the APC National Chairmanship seat had traditionally been zoned to the North Central. The party chieftain suggested this imbalance may have contributed to mounting internal pressure that ultimately forced Ganduje’s hand.
Still, the source expressed skepticism about whether President Bola Tinubu would again overlook the North Central region to back Kwankwaso, who also hails from the North West.
Despite ongoing speculation about friction between Ganduje and Vice President Kashim Shettima, the party insider rejected such claims, insisting that the real architect of the political drama was the president himself.
“The drama in Gombe State at the Northeast APC endorsement meeting was cooked to spike the Northeast party members, to check their readiness for the 2027 election.
“If you check the contribution of APC in the Northeast during the 2023 election, you will agree with me that it was insignificant. So, what happened last week was intended to wake them up. I don’t think the President intended to remove Shettima, and the drama can’t be attributed to Ganduje,” he clarified.
When asked about the possible impact of Ganduje’s resignation on President Tinubu’s prospects in Kano ahead of the 2027 general election, the chieftain expressed confidence that party unity would prevail.
“It is not necessarily possible for Ganduje’s resignation to threaten Tinubu’s chance in Kano because I don’t think Ganduje will fight back. You know Ganduje is a very loyal and committed member of APC.”
On the possible emergence of Kwankwaso as APC National Chairman, he added, “But what I’m thinking, the way the wave of permutations is going, Kwankwaso may likely emerge as new APC Chairman. This is my personal observation. Kwankwaso will join APC soon.”
