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Stakeholders await presidency on Ganduje’s replacement, composition of caretaker committee
From Romanus Ugwu, Abuja
There was palpable anxiety at the national secretariat of the All Progressives Congress (APC) on Tuesday, July 22, over the future of the members of the National Working Committee (NWC) ahead of the party’s National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting scheduled for Thursday, July 24, in Abuja.
Daily Sun can confirm that members of the national officers and the state chairmen of the party held several hours of meetings at the national secretariat throughout the day, but could not arrive at any resolution concerning the future of the NWC.
Sources close to the meeting told our correspondent that the inability of the stakeholders to interpret the body language of the presidency, particularly President Bola Tinubu, on the possible replacement for the immediate past national chairman, Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, contributed to heightening the anxiety.
The source further disclosed that the presidency may also be exploring certain options like dissolving the NWC and constituting a caretaker committee to organise next year’s elective convention to bring in new national leadership by March 2026.
Speaking to Daily Sun concerning the situation, a member of the NWC lamented the conquest of the party by the presidency, stating that the situation has resulted in keeping everybody in the dark concerning the agenda of the meeting.
“What is certain for now is that the NEC meeting will definitely hold on Thursday as earlier scheduled. As you can see, the arrangements have started in earnest with the building of the tent at the secretariat, the venue of the event.
“Apart from that, it has been difficult for most members of the national leadership to confidently say the direction the party will take during and after the NEC meeting.
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“The party is now structured in such a way that no national officer knows what the future holds for him or her. The anxiety on Tuesday is understandable.
“The situation is a confirmation that Mr. President has conquered the party to the point that no national officer will confidently tell you what is happening in the party now,” the NWC member told Daily Sun in confidence.
Another source, who claimed that anything is possible on Thursday during the NEC meeting, explained that the presidency has complicated the situation to the point that the usual drumming of support for the aspirants to the office of chairman was completely non-existent.
“I have never seen a build-up to the appointment or election of a national chairman of our party that recorded an anxiety like this one. Everybody is looking to the presidency to decide the direction of the future of the party.
“Many options are available, ranging from appointing a replacement for Ganduje, possibly from the North Central geopolitical zone, to dissolving the NWC and constituting a caretaker committee to serve out the tenure of this national leadership ending March next year.
“However, what is certain is that the situation will become clearer by Wednesday,” the source told Daily Sun.
