APC Unrest as Presidency Pushes Tenure Extension for Ganduje, NWC to Secure Tinubu’s Ticket

Powerful party stakeholders are not happy with the president’s schemes to extend the tenure of national executives in an attempt to tighten its control over the All Progressives Congress (APC) national secretariat.
Notwithstanding growing tensions within the party, the presidency is committed to ensuring a seamless process in obtaining a new ticket for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu as the general elections of 2027 get near.
According to information obtained by Saturday Tribune, efforts are being made to prolong the terms of the APC National Working Committee (NWC) members, who are led by Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, past the 2019 general election.
In order to avoid electing new national and state offices, which would result in legal challenges and increased polarization within the party at the state level, similar extensions might also be given to leaders at the state chapters.

According to sources, the national caucus meeting that took place before the National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting in Abuja in February included conversations about securing tenure extensions for Ganduje and state leaders.

Felix Morka, the APC National Publicity Secretary, announced party acceptance of the extension plans at the end of that meeting by reading a vote of confidence in Ganduje’s NWC.

Following the dismissal of Senators Abdullahi Adamu and Iyiola Omisore during a NEC meeting in August 2023, Ganduje and Senator Ajibola Basiru were elected national chairman and secretary, respectively. At the APC National Convention in Abuja in March 2022, Adamu and Omisore were chosen.

Party officers are expected to hold office for four years, with the option to be re-elected or reappointed for one more term, as stated in Article 17(1) of the APC Constitution (2022 as modified).

According to this article, “any officers of the Party elected or appointed into the Party’s organs shall serve in such organs for a period of four (4) years and shall be eligible for re-election or reappointment for another period of four (4) years only, except as otherwise provided in this Constitution.”

First-term governors, however, are displeased with the proposed tenure extension because they feel that their predecessors’ supporters are being imposed at the state and federal levels.

The president’s interference in the appointments has caused conflict, even though these governors are keen to install their own allies.

The automatic ticketing of federal MPs who defected to the APC is another area of controversy.

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The Tribune claims that before making their defection public, a number of senators and members of the House of Representatives obtained agreements with the president for automatic tickets.

Senators who allegedly made such agreements include Ned Nwoko (Delta North) and Ezenwa Onyewuchi (Imo East), who defected from the Labour Party. Salman Idris (Kabba-Bunu/Ijumu Federal Constituency), who left the African Democratic Congress (ADC), and Erhiatake Ibori-Suenu, daughter of PDP leader James Ibori, are also beneficiaries of this arrangement in the House of Representatives.

Other party members who are interested in similar positions have privately complained about the impending presidential imposition of candidates, expressing concern that the procedure will impede internal party democracy, even as these parliamentarians enjoy the advantages of their new affiliations.