As the All Progressives Congress gets set for its emergency national convention, a senator from Niger state is said to have begun underground push to emerge as the party’s new national chairman
A chieftain of the party, who made this disclosure to the media at weekend, described the senator as a dark horse, who may surprise and defeat all other contenders to the office
The chieftain who craved anonymity also disclosed thas two aspirants have indicated interest from Niger State, a former Minister as well as a serving senator
He said, “You should also know that there are two other former Governors from the North Central who have indicated interest for the position. One is from Benue state and the other is from Nasarawa State.
“But as l speak to you now the governors are taking their mind off them.
“The reason is hinged on the fact that the experience they had with a former governor who was once the National Chairman the party.”
The chieftain posited also that the Senators are making case for the serving Senator from Niger State on the grounds that since the inception of APC all the National Chairmen had been former Governors.
“From all indications and the narratives going round strategic blocks in the party, the support base of two frontline aspirants in the person of a vocal serving senator and a former minister both from the North Central zone are most likely going to dominate the permutations for the race of who becomes the new national chairman of the party in the next national convention which is coming up in few months.
“There are indications that the serving senator is said to be popular amongst young political class as he is versatile in managing the diversity and strength of both the old and new generation of politicians, he is outspoken against a society that groom bad and inept leadership, which pundits believe it can results in establishing bad governance. His silent mentioned has today created a challenge for older politicians and will be making it look tough in the coming days for the older hands on how to deal with the dynamics of the permutations.
“For the former minister who was also a one time member of the lower green chamber, the political environment may proof too difficult as pundits believed he will be used, and the fear is that It makes the party future uncertain. He is a good schemer in the game of party politics and within the macro environment, but when it comes to rallying round the party leadership blocks and populace he will face a herculean task to manage.”
About three former governors, Ali Modu Sheriff, Umaru Tanko Almakura and Abdulazeez Yari are so far the prominent names that have featured in the race for a new National Chairman of the APC
However, the APC Caretaker/Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee has not concluded the date for the National Convention as the proposed time table for the congresses is said to be before the President, Muhammadu Buhari, awaiting approval.
