Barely hours after the sudden resignation of Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje from the exalted position of the National Chairman of APC, a chieftain of the party has predicted the emergence of Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso as a potential replacement.

Although the APC chieftain believed Ganduje had been occupying the top party seat, which rightly belongs to the North Central, he suggested Ganduje may have been consumed by the zoning crisis.

The impeccable source, who pleaded to remain anonymous, however, could not reconcile how President Tinubu would again jettison the North Central for Kwankwaso, who is also from the same political zone as Ganduje.

According to him, “Ganduje might have been forced to resign because a self-resignation of this instance is not expected. Yet it is not surprising because that seat is very hot. We know what has happened to his successors, so it is hard to see a Chairman who completes his tenure as APC Chairman. We saw what happened to Abdullahi Adamu, Oshiomhole, and others.

“It is possible that Ganduje might have been consumed by the zoning crisis because that position belonged to North Central before Ganduje was confirmed. It does not belong to North West,” he said.

When asked if the resignation has a connection with the perceived conflict between Ganduje and Vice President Kashim Shettima, the source vehemently disagreed, insisting President Tinubu himself orchestrated the Gombe drama.

He said, “The drama in Gombe State at the Northeast APC endorsement meeting was cooked to spike the Northeast party members, to check their readiness for the 2027 election.

“If you check the contribution of APC in the Northeast during the 2023 election, you will agree with me that it was insignificant. So, what happened last week was intended to wake them up. I don’t think the President intended to remove Shettima, and the drama can’t be attributed to Ganduje.”

On whether Ganduje’s resignation would affect Tinubu’s fortune in Kano come the 2027 general election, the APC chieftain doubted the likelihood of any discord that would threaten the fortune of Tinubu’s second term.

“It is not necessarily possible for Ganduje’s resignation to threaten Tinubu’s chance in Kano because I don’t think Ganduje will fight back. You know Ganduje is a very loyal and committed member of APC.

“But what I’m thinking, the way the wave of permutations is going, Kwankwaso may likely emerge as new APC Chairman. This is my personal observation. Kwankwaso will join APC soon.” (Adapted from a report by The Guardian)