Governor Sani Bello of Niger State has assumed the duty of the Acting National Chairman of the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC and he has started working already....CONTINUE READING
With this development, it is perceived that Governor Mai Mala Buni of Yobe State who has been acting as the head of the APC has been sacked and replaced with the Niger Governor.
Before this development became public, some high-powered horse trading took place. A report by ThisDay revealed that some influential APC Governors met President Muhammadu Buhari and persuaded him to give his backing to leadership change in the APC in the interest of the party.
At the end of it all, President Buhari gave his backing and gave three strong directives before traveling to London. The directives were: to dissolve Buni-led committee, that Governor Bello should act as APC National Chairman and that the convention date which is March 26th must be sacrosanct. Below are the six APC Governors that met Buhari and got his backing before he left for London.
1 . Governor Sani Bello (Niger State). He was among the six APC Governors that met Buhari for the purpose of APC national leadership issues. It seems that he is the major beneficiary as the leadership of the party is now on his shoulders. Buhari appointed him to head the party while other Governors are now backing him in place of Buni.
2 . Governor Kayode Fayemi (Ekiti State). Fayemi is the Chairman of the Nigerian Governors Forum. He is very influential not only in the APC but in the country at large. Many tipped him for President in 2023 but he has not said he would contest. He is also close to both President Buhari and APC National Leader, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu. He was among those that met Buhari for this reason.
3 . Governor Atiku Bagudu (Kebbi State). Bagudu is the Chairman of APC Governors Forum. His is very close to both Buni and Buhari. For him to be part of the team, it means that their mission has the backing of majority of the APC Governors.
4 . Governor Nasir El-Rufai (Kaduna State). The Kaduna Governor is a close ally of Fayemi. He is also very close to President Buhari. Many claim that El-Rufai is nursing higher political ambition in 2023 but he has not publicly said anything. He was among those that met Buhari over APC leadership before the President gave his backing for leadership change.
5 . Governor Simon Lalong (Plateau State). Lalong is the Chairman of Northern Governors Forum. As such, he is one of the influential Governors in Nigeria. Lalong is Buhari’s loyalist too and he is close to many of the Governors listed above. He backs the move too.
6 . Governor Abubakar Badaru (Jigawa State). Badaru is a close ally to both Buni and Bagudu. Most of the major decisions concerning APC at the national level before usually have him, Buni and Bagudu backing those moves.
For him and Bagudu to be part of this new move, it means that many APC Governors want it and that could have made Buhari to give them his backing.
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