By Jude Opara, Abuja
There was palpable tension at the National Secretariait of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) on Wednesday ahead of the scheduled National Executive Committee (NEC) which holds this Thursday at the Aso Rock Presidential Villa.
The meeting which was earlier scheduled to take place at the Muhammadu Buhari National Secretariat of the party in Blantyre street, Wuse 11 was surprisingly shifted to the Villa, despite the fact that already the canopies and other logistics were fixed before the superior directive.
The meeting which is expected to name the replacement for the immediate past National Chairman, Dr. Abdulahi Ganduje who resigned his position last month, has put most members of the National Working Committee (NWC) on the edge as their fate remains uncertain.
Inside sources also revealed that in their desperation to be allowed to remain in office till February 2026 when the National Convention would be held, have started making frantic contacts to governors, with the hope that they could influence President Bola Tinubu to allow them to stay.
Some of the NWC members were locked in crisis meeting in the office of the Acting National Chairman, Hon. Bukar Abba Dalori ostensibly to strategize on how to survive the impending night of long knives.
Our source who who pleaded anonymity further revealed that what has heightened to apprehension of the NWC is the fact that President Tinubu appears to be holding his plans close to his chest.
In the past, there used to be caucus meetings before the NEC, but there is nothing like that in this very dispensation, a development that has equally increased the level of anxiety among the NWC members.
Meanwhile, even as the present NWC members are seriously lobbying to remain in office till the next convention, those who are eyeing their position are also not relenting in pushing their case.
It is expected that the next National Chairman will come from the North Central where it was originally zoned to before the dramatic appointment of Ganduje in the NEC meeting of August, 2023.
The top contenders include; former governor of Nasarawa state, Alhaji Tanko Almakura, former National Chairman of the Peopels Democratic Party (PDP), Sen. Barnabas Gemade, former governor of Plateau state, Joshua Dariye and former Minister of State for FCT, Solomon Ewuga.
But from all indications, the odds seem to favour Almakura and Gemade due to a number of factors.
Almakura apart from being a former governor who may get the support of his colleagues serving governors, he is also from the Center for Progressives Change (CPC) block founded by the late President Muhammadu Buhari.
It could be recalled that the CPC was among the merger political parties that formed the APC in 2014.
Since the era of the Tinubu led government, the group has been crying of marginalization in the party with little or no tangible appointment given to them in the governance structure.
This development has forced most of their members to have dumped the APC for the coalition African Democratic Change (ADC).
However, Almakura who now appears to be the leader of the CPC block, since after the death of Buhari had said he will remain in the APC. That decision is expected to count favourably for him.
For Sen. Gemade, his unique selling point is the fact that he has the cognate experience having served in same capacity as the National Chairman of the PDP.
Another plus for him is that since the APC is said to be interested in balancing its positions to cater for all the contending groups in the country, being a Christian could help him to clinch the office.
However, thee is another school of thought that suggests that the current Acting National Chairman of the party, Hon. Dalori and his NWC may get the extension to February next year.
If that happens, it means that the powers that be have decided to ignore the fact that both the Vice President, Sen. Kashim Shettima and Dalori are from the same Borno state.
Analysts believe that it may be difficult for Dalori to retain his position, even if the other members are spared since he hails from the home state of the Vice President.
Meanwhile, the APC in a statement on Wednesday confirmed the shift in venue, saying it was due to “logistical reasons”. The meeting will commence by 2pm.
