A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Chief George Agbakahi has said that time should not be spent in finding a suitable substantive national chairman to replace Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje.
It could be recalled that Ganduje recently resigned from the position on health ground.
Speaking to journalists on Thursday in Abuja, Agbakahi, who is the South-East leader of Tinubu Support Organization and member of APC, Presidential Campaign Council, PCC, Media and Publicity Directorate in the 2023 Presidential Election, stated that constitutionally, the National Chairman of the party is mandated to work with the members of the national working committee (NWC) to promote unity, stability and camaraderie as well as developing effective strategy to win elections.
He said, "The significance of an active National Chairman of a Political Party globally can not be over emphasized, and the party that gets it wrong in recruiting to this office inevitably pays dearly at the polls.
"Taking into consideration the current political realities in the country, 2027 General Election is not far away, and the sooner the succession planning, the less likelihood of getting it wrong.”
He said that internal party tensions and power tussle in some states make it imperative for the party to quickly settle down and develop a culture of effective internal conflict resolution and succession planning with a clear and urgent focus on stabilizing the organic metabolism of the party.
"This process should start now. APC has ridden its luck after the 2023 General Election and emerged intact.
“Whilst that may call for cheers all around, no one should be fooled, the seeds of internal strife sown in the season leading up to the General Elections still remain there coupled with chain reactions precipitated by the tsunami of defections to the party in some states bobbling up below the surface in Nassarawa, Enugu, Rivers, Lagos, Kaduna, Abia, Ondo, Kano, Borno, Osun, Benue, Adamawa, Delta, Zamfara, Bayelsa and Akwa-Ibom.
"There is no denying the fact that there are indications that the internal wrangling in some of the aforementioned states may persist till the 2027 election if concrete steps are not taken to resolve them.
“While there have been ongoing efforts to resolve these anomalies in the above-mentioned states to ensure that the party achieves a united front before 2027, some aggrieved members have maintained a strong stance, making resolution difficult. Now, it’s glaring that there is work to be done, lots of it.
"That task fundamentally belongs to the incoming substantive National Chairman," he said.
The APC Chieftain stressed that as the search begins for who will replace Dr. Abdullahi Ganduje, who he said did an excellent job for the growth and stability of the APC, the party must now insist on an individual who has the requisite experience and credibility, who is trustworthy, independent, focused, dynamic and courageous.
"The new leader must be able to rally members in difficult times but more importantly resolve internal disputes among members without sentiment or bias which is one of the greatest challenges facing the party in recent times.
"What are those character traits and personality types that are required for this arduous job? What is the ideal person’s specification for the role?
“First and foremost, he/she, like our president, must be a seasoned political animal, one with politics in his/her genes.
"He/she must be charismatic but more importantly, command the respect and trust of both the party and the political leadership of the country as a whole," he advised.
Agbakahi further stated that the new APC chairman must be able to reach out beyond established bases, whether they are power bases, religious and geopolitical bases; just as he must be able to, if not champion, at least appeal to the grassroots support base of the party (youth, women, disabilities) thereby building on successes of the 2023 polls.
Continuing, he said, "The new chairman must be a natural born “father figure” who can be seen by all to carry people along, but must be principled and firm, yet pragmatic when called upon.
"In the words of Tony Blair, the party chairman should be able to see the third way, the middle ground between opposing political and dogmatic positions."
The APC Chieftain said he was excited to note that a number of real or rumoured aspirants to the position are mostly from the North Central geopolitical zone of the country, which according to him, was logically, morally and legally more suited to produce next Chairman, in line with the party's Constitution and also based on justice, equity and fairness.
Dr. Agbakahi took a cursory look at the speculated aspirants, including Joshua Dariye, former Plateau State Gov, Yahaya Bello, former Governor of Kogi State, Senator Sani Musa representing Niger East Senatorial District, Senator Solomon Ewuga who represented Nassarawa North Senatorial District and also former Deputy Governor of Nassarawa State, Senator Umaru Tanko Almakura, former Governor of Nassarawa State and former Senator representing Nassarawa South Senatorial District, and noted that they are all prominent personalities that can hold their own.
However, he believes that Umaru Tanko Al-makura holds the aces based on experience, merit, and more.
"Added to his personal traits; character, leadership qualities, credibility, international exposure (Traits commonly ascribed to him includes “personal integrity, trustworthy, loyal to the core and faithful to the party”) and you begin to get a glimpse of the gentleman.
"A two term Governor of Nassarawa state who shocked the political establishment by becoming the only CPC candidate that defeated a PDP incumbent in 2011 Governorship Election and easily won a Senate seat in Nassarawa south in 2019."
He stated that in this regard, former and seating Governors as well as Senators respectively will see him as one of their own.
"In 2022 APC chairmanship contest, he was the front runner, almost cruising to victory before the issue of consensus came up. According to the news report, he was dropped essentially because of his closeness to President Tinubu. His unalloyed support and unreserved loyalty to the president, as well as his deep and resolute commitment to the party, is not in doubt."
Dr Agbakahi opined that the former governor's politics and governance disposition is devoid of ethnicity and religion.
"He is widely seen as a centrist and a "moderate crossover type" capable of appealing to a national common ground, a key factor in the rebuilding work that the party needs to undertake if it must avoid coming apart at the seams. His dedication and participation in crucial party assignments have afforded him the much needed ideas and innate knowledge in party administration.
"His chairmanship of the North East reconciliation committee in 2018 and membership of the Baba Akande led national reconciliation committee in 2020 are significant cases in point alluding to his readiness for the job from day one," he argued.
Above all, the APC Chieftain stated that as a pioneer member and a signatory to the merger of APC in 2013, representing the CPC block, Al-makura also played a huge role in calming tensions among CPC ranks when some members of the CPC block threatened to pull out of the party in early 2025 citing marginalization, lack of fairness, justice and equity to their block.
"In conclusion, if the foregoing has any value, it is the fact that it makes the case for the APC to think really long and hard about whom to entrust with this all-important task particularly in light of the current political veracity in the country.
"Simply put, get this wrong and the party may well be over for the largest political party in Africa but get it right and APC will at last relaunch itself on the part of Progress and Greatness, for posterity," he posited.