BY BENEDICT NWACHUKWU, MAYOWA SAMUEL AND BRIGHT JACOB
The recently released All Progressives Congress approved zoning formula for party offices ahead of its March 26 National Convention has not only doubled the assurance that the ruling party will definitely hold the convention on the said date, but President Muhammadu Buhari’s unequivocal assertion at the weekend that it would hold has put all shades of doubt to rest.
However, while the zoning arrangement has slammed the door against big players from the North East and North West, those from North Central who were favoured are gearing up for the final showdown.
This implies that the aspirations of the former governor of Borno State and former National Chairman of the People’s Democratic Party who returned to the APC, Ali-Modu Sheriff to lead the ruling APC has naturally been truncated by virtue of coming from the North East.
His massive billboard at the Buhari House which reads “The man the job needs” may soon be dismantled.
Others caught in the web of the zoning formula include former governor of Zamfara State, Abdulaziz Yari and Dani Shinkafi both from the North West; former governor of Bauchi State, Isa Yuguda and also Jagaban Sunny Moniedafe from Adamawa, both in the North East.
But while the rest who were spared by the zoning continue with their push, consultation and horse-trading, the party leadership may settle for a consensus candidate to minimize rancour and bad blood that may ensue as an aftereffect of open balloting and contestation to select the national chairman of the party.
Since aspirants from both the North East and North West have been automatically disqualified from further pursuing their ambition to lead the party, who are the remaining aspirants to battle it out?
Without a doubt, the former governors of Nasarawa State and serving senators, Abdullahi Adamu and Umar Tanko Al-Makura are the frontrunners.
While the Nasarawa State government has thrown its weight behind one of its “illustrious sons”, Al-Makura, as the anointed one to fly the state’s flag in the contest, the claim that President Muhammadu Buhari has settled with Senator Adamu as the consensus candidate continues to ring loud.
But the contests seem more severe than portrayed as the other aspirants from the North Central are working round the clock, pushing to occupy the Buhari House National Secretariat of the party come March 26.
Saliu Mustafa, a former Chieftain of the Congress for Progressive Change from Kwara State, former governor of Benue State, George Akume who is a serving minister, the duo of Sani Musa a serving senator and Saidu Esu from Niger State are all in the race.
“This implies that the aspirations of the former governor of Borno State and former National Chairman of the People’s Democratic Party who returned to the APC, Ali-Modu Sheriff to lead the ruling APC has naturally been truncated by virtue of coming from the North East. His massive billboard at the Buhari House which reads “The man the job needs” may soon be dismantled”
Analysts have described some aspirants as “also ran” who are in the race to bargain for settlement while others believe some were being sponsored to block some serious-minded aspirants.
Now that the party has settled for the North Central to produce the next national chairman through its zoning, the battle has become more severe and contentious.
However, the stakeholders of the party from the zone are divided on various issues ranging from rejecting the choice of the zone to produce the national chairman to the alleged choice of President Buhari on the consensus candidate.
As the party heads into the national convention which is 12 days away, the dust raised about the occupant of the exalted seat at the Buhari House National Secretariat of the APC may naturally give way for horse-trading amongst the following.
Umaru Tanko Al-Makura
He was born in August 1952 in Lafia, Nasarawa State. He was a former governor of the state and a serving senator elected into the National Assembly in 2019. He is also a businessman gunning for the national chairmanship position of the All Progressives Congress.
Al-Makura has had a chequered political career. In 1980, he emerged as the youth leader of the National Party of Nigeria in the old Plateau State. He also represented Lafia-Obi Federal Constituency in what is today called Nasarawa State and was a founding member of the People’s Democratic Party in Nasarawa State in 1998.
Al-Makura was elected governor of Nasarawa State on April 26, 2011, under the platform of the Congress for Progressive Change. He was served an impeachment notice on July 14, 2014, after the speaker of the Nasarawa State House of Assembly gave notice of impeachment to the Clerk of the House, to that effect. He, however, survived that impeachment move.
Al-Makura has been tipped as the candidate to beat and also viewed as a likely consensus candidate for the chairmanship position. In fact, many Northerners, including the president, have a high opinion of him because he had been elected as a governor under the party Buhari once contested for president, and which he floated, the defunct CPC. For this, it is an open secret that he enjoys the support of the president, too.
Unlike most former governors who are at loggerheads with their successors, Al-Makura and incumbent Governor Abdullahi Sule enjoy a very cordial relationship. Also, based on loyalty, Al-Makura is looked upon by APC bigwigs as dependable and reliable because while he was the only CPC governor elected during the general elections of 2011, he remained loyal to the party. All these and more will surely count for him as he jostles for the chairmanship position of the APC, his present challenges notwithstanding.
Abdullahi Adamu
Senator Abdullahi Adamu is another political heavyweight from Nasarawa State. He is a 75-year-old former Governor of the state who held sway from May 29, 1999 to May 29, 2007. He was born in Keffi, Nasarawa State and his Alma Matters were the Kaduna State Polytechnic and the University of Jos.
Adamu’s credential as a technocrat raises his head high among the other candidates eyeing the coveted seat of the APC chairmanship position. Adamu had worked with the Electricity Corporation of Nigeria, Northern Nigeria Development Corporation. He is also a lawyer of repute.
Adamu’s foray into politics started in 1977 and he has held many political positions since then, with the APC chairmanship position being the latest he desires to add to his political feather.
In what was viewed as a logjam to his political ambition, Adamu was docked over an N15bn fraud and has had his endorsement as a contender for the chairman of the party split opinions in the state. He, nevertheless, remains relevant to power brokers in the APC.
Though there are those who have accused Adamu of being a mole planted by the PDP, which has consequently put pressure on the acting caretaker chairman of the ruling All Progressives Congress, Abubakar Bello, to prevent the ‘’imposition’’ of Adamu as the national chairman, he (Adamu) remains undeterred in his resolve to grab the plum job.
More so, tongues have been wagging of late that he is the chosen one by President Buhari. Whether it is true or not, in the next 12 days, the new national chairman of the APC will emerge.
George Akume
Born December 27, 1953, the political prominence of George Akume came to light when he became Governor of Benue State in 1999 on the platform of the PDP. He was re-elected as governor in 2003, making him the first governor of the state to complete two terms in office.
His tenure ended in May 2007 after which he was elected Senator representing Benue North-West. He was re-elected Senator to represent the zone under the platform of the Action Congress of Nigeria in June 2011 when he was made the Minority Leader up until June 2015. He also once chaired the Senate Committee on Army. Akume was also elected for another term in 2015 but in 2019, he lost to PDP’s Senator Orke Jev. After the loss, Akume was appointed the Minister of Special Duties and Intergovernmental Affairs.
Akume holds a Bachelor’s degree in Sociology and a Master’s degree in Labour Relations from the University of Ibadan.
On his ambition to become the APC Chairman, the former governor stated that the race is not a do-or-die affair.
Senator Sani Musa
From Minna, Niger State, Mohammed Sani Musa was born on May 11, 1965. In 2019, Senator Musa was elected to represent the Niger East Senatorial District on the platform of the APC.
Musa bagged a B.Sc (Hon) in Business Administration at the Ahmadu Bello University Zaria in 1990 and specialised in Banking and Finance.
He also holds a Postgraduate Certificate in International Management from the University of Liverpool in 2013. Additionally, he holds a Post Graduate Diploma in Public Policy and Management from the University of London which he got in 2007. He also has a Diploma in Insurance from ABU Zaria in 1986,
He said his agenda as APC Chairman include:
· To identify young men and women of impeccable character and competence that have been accepted at the grassroots level to run for offices and support their campaign
· To think-outside-the-box and complement government’s existing efforts in the emancipation of women and youths in Nigeria
· To initiate a Reward System that is sustainable where hard-working and qualified party women and youths will be accorded the right of first refusal.
“Now that the party has settled for the North Central to produce the next national chairman through its zoning, the battle has become more severe and contentious.However, the stakeholders of the party from the zone are divided on various issues ranging from rejecting the choice of the zone to produce the national chairman to the alleged choice of President Buhari on the consensus candidate”
Saliu Mustapha
Saliu Mustapha does not need much introduction. He was the national deputy chairman of the Congress for Progressive Change which merged with others to form the APC.
Among the roll call of contenders, Mustapha is one of the youngest in an APC that had been accused of not giving youths any chance at leadership positions. Mustapha is indeed young. He is 49 years old, and may likely enjoy the patronage and support of APC youths as the March 26 national convention date draws nearer.
His age, notwithstanding, Mustapha is not a novice in the political calculations to determine the national chairman of the party. He has a wealth of experience behind him as he had been involved with other political parties like the Progressive Action Congress, All Nigeria Peoples Party, and the Congress for Progressive Change.
One thing working for Mustapha is that he had stood like a rock of Gibraltar behind President Muhammadu Buhari in the heydays of the CPC and any analysis detailing the birth of the APC would not be complete without him. For this and many more, his supporters claim he enjoys the unalloyed support of the President.
Mustapha has also been celebrated as a selfless Nigerian with unifying traits in his DNA. According to political stakeholders, he has the perfect recipe to calm the storm that has engulfed the APC if elected.
Another advantage Mustapha enjoys is that he hasn’t had any rough time with any of the anti-graft bodies. Analysts say he has carried out his business like the seasoned administrator that he is, and would likely make a positive impact when APC delegates come together to elect their national officials.
