The National Executive Committee (NEC) of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has zoned the national chairmanship position of the party to the North-west geopolitical zone.
The party’s National Publicity Secretary, Felix Morka, disclosed this shortly after the NEC meeting held at the party’s National Secretariat in Abuja on Wednesday.
Morka said the decision was taken at the NEC meeting presided over by President Bola Tinubu and the party’s national chairman, Abdullahi Ganduje.
In August 2023, Ganduje was appointed as the party chairman by the National Working Committee (NWC) after the July 2023 resignation of Abdullahi Adamu as the chairman of the party.
Adamu had emerged as the party’s national chairman in 2022 and was supposed to serve until 2026 before his resignation.
Adamu hails from Nasarawa State in the North-central zone while Ganduje is from Kano State in the North-west zone.
NEC’s decision to zone the chairmanship position is seen in some quarters as mere confirmation of Ganduje’s occupation of the position.
It may also put an end to the agitation by the party’s faithful in the North-central for the return of the position to the zone.
In the current APC power-sharing arrangement, the North-west zone officially has three key positions, namely the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the depity senate president, and the national chairman.
ubu is from the South-west zone, his deputy, Kashim Shettima hails from the North-east, Senate President Godswill Akpabio from the South-south while the Deputy Speaker is from the South-east zone.
The Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), George Akume, is the highest-ranking political officeholder from the North-central zone.
The party’s first national chairman, Bisi Akande, is from the South-west zone. He served from 2013 to 2014.
John Odigie-Oyegun from the south emerged as the party’s chairman in 2014 and served until 2018.
Adams Oshiomole succeeded Odigie-Oyegun in 2018 and served until 2020 when the party’s internal wrangling in Oshiomole’s home state of Edo led to his removal from office.
From 2020-2022, Mala Buni, now governor of Yobe State in the North-east geopolitical zone, served as the party’s caretaker chairman.
In 2022, Abdullahi Adamu, from the North-central geopolitical zone, emerged as the party’s national chairman. He resigned in 2023, paving the way for Ganduje’s emergence as chairman.
