The supporters of former Kano State Governor Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso are preparing their next move following the resignation of his estranged protégé and successor, Dr. Umar Abdullahi Ganduje, as national chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Since coming into power, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has reportedly met with Kwankwaso to discuss a possible switch from the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) to the APC. However, pundits say Kwankwaso could not join the APC while his political rival and former ally, Ganduje, was chairman of the party.
Now that Ganduje has vacated the APC national chairman position, Kwankwaso’s supporters say they are ready for the next move.
Kwankwaso’s supporters, popularly known as Kwankwasiyya, claim that Ganduje embarrassed the people of Kano and was forced to resign.
The chairman of the NNPP in Kano, Hashimu Dungurawa, who spoke on behalf of Kwankwaso’s supporters, described Ganduje’s resignation as an embarrassment to Kano.
He stated that Ganduje was found wanting for engaging in corrupt practices, especially during the recently concluded party leadership election.
Dungurawa made these claims on Sunday while responding to questions from LEADERSHIP about the party’s next steps following the development.
He said it was reported in the media that Ganduje was forced to resign due to financial misconduct allegations, adding that his resignation was not voluntary.
However, he could not say if this development would prompt Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, leader of the Kwankwasiyya Movement, to defect to the APC.
“I am not in a position to decide or speak on whether the Kwankwasiyya leader would defect to the ruling APC. Regarding Ganduje, he was instructed to resign. There are allegations of bribery and corruption against him.
“I read in the news that he messed up in the local government councils’ party elections in Abuja. He was found wanting in changing delegates and receiving bribes,” the NNPP chieftain said.
NEC will decide next chairman – APC
The national publicity secretary, Felix Morka, said the party will take steps to fill the position through a National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting.
Speaking last night on Politics Today on Channels TV, he added that a date will be set for the NEC in the coming days, stressing that consultations are ongoing with a lot of stakeholders over the issue.
He said the NEC will decide on various issues including the zoning and other issues arising.
The party spokesman said he is not aware that the North Central zone will reoccupy the position, adding that it was subject to deliberations by NEC.
On Kwankwaso joining the APC, Morka said nothing has been said about the former Kano governor joining the party for now.
He described as mere speculation that the president is not happy with Ganduje, adding that the president has not said anything about Ganduje’s resignation.
Meanwhile, some of the frontrunners to replace Ganduje from the North Central zone are, secretary to the government of the federation, Senator George Akume (Benue); former Nasarawa State governor, Senator Tanko Almakura (Nasarawa); Senator Sani Musa (Niger); and former Plateau State governor, Senator Joshua Dariye (Plateau).
It’ll Be Relief For Us If Kwankwaso Joins APC -NNPP
The New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) says it will greatly relieve members if its 2023 presidential candidate, Sen. Rabiu Kwankwaso, joins the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
This is contained in a statement by the NNPP National Secretary, Mr Oginni Olaposi, on Sunday in Lagos.
Olaposi was reacting to Abdullahi Ganduje’s resignation as APC national chairman and speculations that he quit the ruling party over Kwankwaso’s alleged move to join them.
Ganduje resigned from his chairmanship position of the APC on Friday, citing health issues.
Olaposi stated that though the resignation was an internal affair of the APC, the party decided to react because of the issues between the party and Kwankwaso.
“Kwankwaso still insists he is a member of our party even after his expulsion for alleged anti-party activities.
“Kwankwaso tried to hijack the NNPP and caused the party to go through avoidable litigation.
“The NNPP Logo that he changed to the Kwankwasiyya Movement Logo has just been changed to our Logo by INEC, after years of controversy and litigation. We have reasons to doubt the ongoing propaganda that Ganduje left APC to enable an alleged negotiated arrangement with Kwankwaso ahead of the 2027 presidential election.
“It is on record that Ganduje once said that APC is always ready to pardon and accommodate defectors, even those who left its fold.”
Olaposi stated that NNPP would be elated if any proposed deal between APC and Kwankwaso became a reality, as the ruling party is better positioned to handle the former Kano state governor’s baggage.
“We find it difficult to believe that Kwankwaso, who is still struggling to hijack the NNPP, is also negotiating to join the ruling party.
“Kwankwaso betrayed our trust in him by trying to hijack the party from its founder, Dr Boniface Aniebonam, who facilitated his free ticket for the 2023 presidential election.” (NAN)
North-Central Forum Endorses Al-Makura as APC National Chairman
Meanwhile, the APC North-Central Forum has endorsed former Nasarawa State Governor Tanko Al-Makura as the preferred candidate to replace Ganduje as the party’s national chairman.
Ganduje suddenly resigned on Friday, June 27, 2025, prompting the Forum to renew calls for the chairmanship position to return to the North-Central zone in line with APC’s zoning arrangement.
Following Ganduje’s resignation, the party’s deputy national chairman (North), Alhaji Bukar Dalori, stepped in as acting national chairman.
In a statement released on Sunday in Abuja and signed by the Forum’s chairman, Alhaji Saleh Zazzaga, the group said its endorsement of Al-Makura came after broad consultations with stakeholders across the zone.
The statement, entitled “Why Al-Makura Deserves to be APC National Chairman,” highlighted Al-Makura’s long-standing party loyalty, wealth of political experience, and ties to the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), one of the legacy parties that formed the APC in 2013.
“Among the three legacy parties—ACN, CPC, and ANPP—only the CPC bloc has not produced a national chairman.
“Senator Tanko Al-Makura, a two-term governor and former senator, is a loyal party man who commands the respect of both past and present governors,” the statement read.
The Forum described Al-Makura as a bridge-builder with deep roots in both the executive and legislative arms of government.
It recalled Al-Makura’s voluntary withdrawal from the 2022 APC national chairmanship race to support the party’s consensus decision that produced Abdullahi Adamu.
Highlighting his past roles, the statement noted that Al-Makura chaired several strategic committees, including the Ekiti State APC Primary Election Committee in 2018 and the North-East Reconciliation Committee. He was also a member of the Bisi Akande-led Reconciliation Committee in 2020.
The Forum outlined Al-Makura’s political journey, noting his experience as a youth leader in the National Party of Nigeria (NPN) in 1979, State Secretary of the National Republican Convention (NRC) in 1989, and founding member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in 1999.
He was later elected governor under the CPC platform in 2011 and served as an APC senator in 2019.
“He stood firmly with the APC and President Bola Ahmed Tinubu earlier this year when some CPC bloc members considered defecting to join the opposition coalition,” the Forum added.
The Forum described Al-Makura as an advocate of inclusion, noting that his connection to Nigeria’s disability community—as a person living with a disability himself—further strengthens his leadership appeal.
The Forum’s endorsement comes just a day after it demanded that the North-Central zone be allowed to complete the chairmanship tenure initially assigned to the region.
Abdullahi Adamu, also from Nasarawa State, was elected national chairman in March 2022 but resigned in July 2023 after the 2023 national elections, during which he did not support Ahmed Bola Tinubu’s emergence as the party’s candidate, leaving the tenure unfinished.
“After extensive deliberations, the North-Central APC Forum has resolved to endorse Senator Tanko Al-Makura for the position of APC national chairman. This is in continuation of our call for the chairmanship to return to the North-Central zone by the APC’s zoning principles,” the statement concluded.
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