Tussle intensifies as questions raised on next APC National Chairman

As politicians continue to strategize for the presidency in 2023, the controversy about whether the control should move to the south has exploded.

While the ruling party APC has not decided which zone will secure its presidential ticket in 2023, how the party zones its offices, especially the national chairmanship, is a key determinant of where it will go.

Since the National Executive Committee (NEC) of the APC disbanded the Adams Oshiomhole-led National Working Committee (NWC) last year, the party has been run by a caretaker committee.

In the event that plans change, the party will hold a national convention in June to elect new party leaders. This was claimed by Mohammed Badru, chairman of the APC Touch and Strategy Committee and governor of Jigawa State, who also rejected reports that the convention was being postponed.

However, the majority of those connected to the ruling party’s chairmanship role is from the north. Senator Kassim Shettima (Borno); Abdulaziz Yari (Yobe); Senator Tanko Al- Makura (Nasarawa); Ali Modu Sheriff (Borno); Senator Danjuma Goje (Gombe); Senator George Akume are former APC governors from the north who have been secretly running for the chairmanship position (Benue).

Sunny Moniedafe, the former chairman of ACN in Abuja, has publicly announced his intention to lead the party, unfazed by the field of candidates.

While the party is still undergoing revalidation and registration, the fight for the role of party chairman is heating up, with aspirants using manipulative techniques to force party members to endorse their candidacy.

Sheriff recently announced that if the chairmanship is zoned to the North-East, he would run for it.

Sheriff’s argument is close to Yari’s, who has claimed that his ambition is dependent on where the party assigns the chairmanship ticket.

‘If granted the opportunity to serve as National Chairman of the APC, my team will first and foremost reaffirm the respect for and supremacy of the party’s constitution, as well as ensuring its successful execution, while maintaining utmost discipline,’ Moniedafe said.

While Al- Makura has made no secret of his desire to lead the party, his backers, led by his successor, Governor Abdullahi Sule, have pushed the zoning issue as well. Yet there’s plenty for them.

They argue that the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) should be given the chance to fill the seat because it has been filled by nearly every other legacy faction.

Bisi Akande, the party’s first interim chairman, was a member of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), as was Adams Oshiomhole, while Mai Mala Buni, the new caretaker chairman, is a member of the All Nigeria People’s Party.

Al-Makura moves quietly but displays mettle and power when the chips are down, according to political analyst Ibrahim Idris. He claims that as the only governor from Buhari’s defunct faction, the CPC, who did not defect or desert the President, he has a good chance of winning the presidency. For the first time since 1999, he helped the APC secure all three senatorial seats in the state, including the Nasarawa South senatorial seat, where he swept the polls to carry his vast leadership experience to the Ninth Senate. However, the analysts point out that it is still early in the race for the seat.

Izzygong