The All Progressives Congress (APC) National Publicity Secretary, Felix Morka, has confirmed the resignation of the party’s national chairman, Abdullahi Ganduje.
Mr Morka, who confirmed the development in a statement on Friday night, said that the chairman’s resignation, which was to enable him to attend to urgent and important personal matters, was with immediate effect.
Mr Morka said that the party’s Deputy National Chairman (North), Ali Dalori, had been directed to assume the position of acting national chairman, pending the meeting of the National Executive Committee (NEC) in December.
This, he said, was to immediately fill the vacancy created by Mr Ganduje’s resignation.
The former national chairman assumed the leadership of APC in August 2023, following the resignation of his predecessor, Abdullahi Adamu.
“Throughout his tenure, he dedicated himself to strengthening the party’s unity and cohesion, expounding its democratic ideals and enhancing the party’s electoral competitiveness.
“The confidence placed in him by the party’s NEC and national caucus meetings in February 2025 was a profound recognition and honour for his service.
“He leaves his position as national chairman with great pride in our collective achievements, including successful defections from opposition parties and legal affirmations of our party leadership’s legitimacy,” Mr Morka said.
He assured APC faithful that the party remained steadfast and unwavering in its mission to deliver transformative governance for all Nigerians, in line with President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.
Ali Dalori
Dalori’s takeover is in line with the party’s constitution, which stipulates that in the event of a chairman’s absence or exit from office, the deputy national chairman from the geographical zone as the chairman shall step in to oversee the party’s affairs in acting capacity.
Section 14(2)(iii) of the constitution states that the deputy national chairman “shall act as the National Chairman in the absence of the National Chairman from his Zone.”
Therefore, if a sitting national chairman resigns, becomes ill, or is unable to continue in office, the deputy national chairman from the same zone automatically steps in as the acting national chairman.
Mr Ganduje is from Kano State in the northern zone while Mr Dalori hails from Borno State in the same zone.
The party has two deputy national chairmen. Emma Eneukwu, from Enugu State, is the deputy national chairman (South). He is a former national publicity secretary of the defunct All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP).
Mr Dalori was appointed as the deputy national chairman (North) in August 2023, following the exit of Abubakar Kyari, who vacated the position after being appointed as the Minister of Agriculture and Food Security by President Bola Tinubu.
He will be in office until a new chairman is appointed or elected at the party’s national convention.
Before his elevation to the National Working Committee (NWC), he had served as the chairman of the APC in Borno State, where he built a reputation with grassroots influence in the North-east.
Six chairpersons in 12 years
Mr Ganduje, a former member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), was the sixth person to lead the APC since its formation in 2013 following the successful merger of some opposition parties at the time.
The parties were the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) and section of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA).
A former governor of Osun State, Bisi Akande, was the first interim chairman of the party. He was succeeded by a former governor of Edo State, John Oyegun, who was also succeeded by another former governor of the state, Adams Oshiomhole.
Incumbent governor of Yobe State, Mala Buni, stepped in as a caretaker committee chairman after Mr Oshiomhole’s exit in controversial circumstances.
Former governor of Nasarawa State, Abdullahi Adamu, succeeded Mr Buni, and upon his resignation, Mr Ganduje assumed office. (NAN/Premium Times)