CPC caucus jostle for APC chairmanship seat

Some leaders from one of the legacy parties that transformed into APC, the defunct Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), want the next APC chairman to come from their group.

Their reason is that of the three main legacy parties that formed the APC, only the CPC caucus, from where President Muhammadu Buhari came, has not occupied the chairmanship seat.

With the President exiting in 2023, the former CPC leaders believe that someone from the caucus leading the party will be a good bargain.

It was learnt that two ex-governors from Nasarawa State, Senator Abdullahi Adamu and Senator Umar Tanko Al-Makura , are being considered for the chairmanship slot by some party leaders from the zone.

The two ex-governors have joined the league of those speculated to be on the chairmanship shopping list, joining the likes of  ex-governors Abdulaziz Yari, Modu Ali Sheriff, Clement Ebri and Kashim Shettima.

However, rival groups in the party are trying to read the body language of President Muhammadu Buhari as his preferred candidate.

A top source, who spoke in confidence, said: “The CPC elements are pushing for the chairmanship slot because since the birth of the merger, only the caucus has not produced the national chairman of APC.

“The first chairman, Chief Bisi Akande, came from the former Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) bloc. His successor, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun was from another legacy party, the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP), and the immediate past national chairman, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, was from ACN.

Another reliable source said: “There will be imbalance in the party if the CPC bloc produces the next chairman, because it is still holding the presidency.

It was also gathered that in the event of the Northcentral getting the chairmanship slot, it will truncate the presidential aspiration of Governor Yahaya Bello of Kogi State.

A former zonal officer said: “I think those who are lobbying for APC chairmanship for Northcentral are only facing the reality. There is a growing consensus that power must shift to the South with the Southwest agitating for it.

Senator Abdullahi Adamu, who is one of the two top members from the zone being mentioned for the chairmanship position, played a yeoman’s role in defending Buhari in the 8th Senate.

He succeeded in returning to the Senate following the personal intervention of the President. But old age pressure is said to be his major constraint.

The two ex-governors have joined the league of those speculated to be on the chairmanship shopping list, including ex-governors Abdulaziz Yari, Modu Ali Sheriff, Clement Ebri and Kashim Shettima among others.