Tinubu, Buhari others to decide Ganduje’s fate at APC parley

The debate over the propriety of the continued tenure of the National Chairman of the APC, Dr Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, is expected to be a central issue during the party’s upcoming caucus and national executive committee (NEC) meetings scheduled for the 11th and 12th of this month.

The planned meetings, announced on Monday by APC National Secretary, Dr. Surajudeen Ajibola, come amid a heated clash between two prominent party chieftains, Chief Oliver Okpala and Alhaji Saleh Zazzaga, regarding Ganduje’s position.

Okpala, Ganduje’s Senior Special Assistant on Public Enlightenment, has described Zazzaga’s attacks on Governor Abdullahi Sule’s vote of confidence in Ganduje as reckless. Sule, who chairs the North-Central APC Governors Forum, had last Thursday expressed support for Ganduje’s leadership, citing the need for unity in the party’s efforts to win upcoming governorship elections in Edo and Ondo states.

However, Zazzaga, speaking on behalf of the North-Central forum, criticised Sule, arguing that the position of national chairman should rightfully belong to the North-Central zone based on the APC’s power-sharing arrangement.

Zazzaga, a member of the Presidential Campaign Council in the 2023 election, pointed out that Sule should be aware that the chairmanship seat should have been filled by someone from the North-Central following the resignation of Senator Abdullahi Adamu, who is from Nasarawa State.

Zazzaga expressed surprise at Sule’s apparent betrayal of his state and the North-Central zone.

In response, Okpala stated that Sule’s position on Ganduje should be acknowledged by all party members, dismissing Zazzaga’s objections as inconsequential and distracting.

Okpala said, “If the governors have said Ganduje is proper and fit to carry on as National Chairman, the objections by an inconsequentially unknown Zazzaga are just noise and mere distractions. These rantings are a sign of uncouth political upbringing and portray Zazzaga as a misfit under the political umbrella he claims to belong to.

“You cannot claim to be a zonal leader while casting aspersions against the leadership of your party. That amounts to attempting to bring your own house into disrepute and ruin. The Northern leaders of the party have warned him, stating that his views do not represent theirs. They maintained that he doesn’t speak for them.

“If Zazzaga’s co-travelers have been warned to desist from such unruly acts, one wonders under which guise or platform he is still spewing bile. Especially as he lacks locus standi within the party, as the organisation he claims to speak for is not recognized by any law and is clearly an illegal entity.

“He is the one who filed a case in court against the National Chairman, a case for which judgement has been fixed. Why is he now making comments that are prejudicial and subversive to the determination of the suit? If Zazzaga has no respect for the rule of law, why did he rush to the courts?

“His continued attacks on Dr. Ganduje shows that he has been contracted by the opposition to undermine, cause division, and create bad blood within the APC, and that plot will fail.”

Attending the parley at the Banquet Hall of the Presidential Villa will be President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Vice President Sen. Kashim Shettima, former President Muhammadu Buhari, and former Vice President Prof. Yemi Osinbajo.

Others include former APC National Chairmen Chief Bisi Akande and Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, Sen. Adams Oshiomhole, Sen. Abdullahi Adamu, his successor Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, past and serving governors, principal officers of the National Assembly, members of the National Working Committee (NWC), and other select party members.

Dr. Surajudeen Ajibola explained that the NEC meeting, with the exception of former President Buhari, Osinbajo, and former chairmen and governors, will be held on the 12th of this month at the Nicon Hilton Hotel, Abuja.