The All Progressives Congress (APC) North-Central Forum has thrown its weight behind former Nasarawa State Governor, Senator Tanko Al-Makura, as the preferred candidate to replace Alhaji Abdullahi Ganduje as the National Chairman of the party.

Ganduje resigned on Friday, June 27, 2025, prompting the Forum to renew calls for the chairmanship position to return to the North-Central zone in line with the APC’s zoning arrangement. Following his resignation, the party’s Deputy National Chairman (North), Alhaji Bukar Dalori, stepped in as Acting National Chairman.

In a statement released on Sunday in Abuja and signed by the Forum’s Chairman, Alhaji Saleh Zazzaga, the group said its endorsement of Al-Makura came after wide consultations with stakeholders across the zone.

Titled “Why Al-Makura Deserves to be APC National Chairman,” the statement emphasized Al-Makura’s long-standing party loyalty, wealth of political experience, and ties to the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), one of the legacy parties that formed the APC in 2013.

“Among the three legacy parties—ACN, CPC, and ANPP—only the CPC bloc has not produced a National Chairman. Senator Tanko Al-Makura, a two-term governor and former senator, is a loyal party man who commands the respect of both past and present governors,” the statement read.

The Forum described Al-Makura as a bridge builder with deep roots in both the executive and legislative arms of government and noted his voluntary withdrawal from the 2022 APC national chairmanship race in support of the party’s consensus decision that produced Abdullahi Adamu.

Highlighting his past roles, the statement said Al-Makura chaired several strategic committees, including the Ekiti State APC Primary Election Committee in 2018 and the North-East Reconciliation Committee. He was also a member of the Baba Bisi Akande-led Reconciliation Committee in 2020.

The Forum outlined Al-Makura’s political journey, noting his experience as a youth leader in the National Party of Nigeria (NPN) in 1979, State Secretary of the National Republican Convention (NRC) in 1989, and founding member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in 1999. He was later elected governor under the CPC platform in 2011 and served as an APC senator in 2019.

“He stood firmly with the APC and President Bola Ahmed Tinubu earlier this year when some CPC bloc members considered defecting to join the opposition coalition,” the Forum added.

Describing him as an advocate of inclusion, the Forum said Al-Makura’s connection to Nigeria’s disability community, being a person living with a disability himself, further strengthens his leadership appeal.

The endorsement came just a day after the Forum demanded that the North-Central be allowed to complete the chairmanship tenure initially assigned to the region. Abdullahi Adamu, also from Nasarawa State, was elected National Chairman in March 2022 but resigned in July 2023, leaving the tenure unfinished.

“After extensive deliberations, the North-Central APC Forum has resolved to endorse Senator Tanko Al-Makura for the position of APC National Chairman. This is in continuation of our call for the chairmanship to return to the North-Central zone in accordance with the APC’s zoning principles,” the statement concluded. (Vanguard)