By Chesa Chesa
The National Executive Committee (NEC) of the All Progressives Congress (APC) on Wednesday ratified the zoning of its national chairmanship slot to the North West, thus securing the seat og the national chairman, Umar Ganduje.
The party’s National Publicity Secretary, Felix Morka, disclosed this to journalists after the NEC meeting held at the party’s national secretariat in Abuja.
The party had initially zoned the position to the North Central, leading to the emergence of Abdullahi Adamu, a former governor of Nasarawa State, as national chairman.
However, Adamu was eased out and Abdullahi Ganduje from the North West became the chairman, a development that did not go down well North Central stakeholders, who argued that Adamu’s replacement should have come from their region.
Morka further announced that NEC passed a vote of confidence in President Tinubu for what he described as the “significant milestones” achieved so far by his administration.
“NEC also passed a vote of confidence in our National Chairman, Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, for the remarkable successes he has led the party to. That vote of confidence was extended to the entire National Working Committee (NWC),” he stated.
Several prominent APC figures were, however, absent from the NEC meeting in Abuja. These included former President Muhammadu Buhari, former Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo, former Rivers State governor, Rotimi Amaechi, former Kaduna State governor, Nasir El-Rufai and former Ekiti State governor, Kayode Fayemi.
Also missing were former Senate President, Ahmad Lawan and former APC National Chairman, Abdullahi Adamu, who resigned under controversial circumstances in 2023.
El-Rufai’s recent criticism of the APC has fuelled speculation that he may align with another political party ahead of the 2027 elections, while Amaechi, Osinbajo and Lawan had contested the party’s 2023 presidential primary but lost to Tinubu.
When asked about the absentees, Morka said: “I have never known the attendance of our NEC or national caucus meetings to be 100 per cent. But be rest assured that all members were invited. We had more members at this NEC meeting than the last one.”
