The North-Central All Progressives Congress (APC) Forum has declared that holding the position of Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) cannot stop the region from producing the National Chairman of the party.
The Forum made the declaration in a statement issued by its Chairman, Alhaji Saleh Zazzaga, on Saturday in Abuja. The statement was in response to insinuations that the position of SGF should be taken away from the North-Central if the region is to produce the National Chairman of the APC.
The SGF, Senator George Akume, is from Benue State in the North-Central. Following the recent resignation of Alhaji Abdullahi Ganduje as National Chairman, stakeholders from the North-Central are demanding that the position be returned to the region.
Insisting that the North-Central should produce the National Chairman of the APC in line with the party’s subsisting zoning arrangement, the Forum kicked against the suggestion that the region cannot have both SGF and National Chairman.
“The North-Central deserves to produce the SGF and APC National Chairman due to the region’s contributions to the party. The North-Central gave President Bola Tinubu and the APC the third highest number of votes in the 2023 presidential poll – behind the South-West and North-West,” the statement noted.
Tinubu received 1,760,993 votes (41.3%) in the North-Central in 2023. Peter Obi of the Labour Party got 1,415,557 votes (33.2%) while Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party received 1,025,178 votes (24.1%) in the region.
“Among the various geopolitical zones, the North-Central has the highest number of APC governors. APC controls five of the six North-Central states – Benue, Kogi, Kwara, Nasarawa and Niger. This unmatched record demonstrates the strength and the wide acceptance of the party in the region.
“Returning the position of National Chairman to the North-Central, in accordance with the zoning arrangement of the APC, is not a favour, rather it is well deserved. The North-Central deserves to produce both the SGF and APC National Chairman. Holding the position of SGF cannot stop the North-Central from producing the National Chairman,” the statement said.
The Forum, in the same vein, faulted calls that the position of APC National Chairman should be reserved for Christians from the North-Central.
Warning those behind the calls to have a rethink, the APC Forum stressed that the North-Central is a secular region.
“The politicians who are bringing up the issue of religion are doing so because of their selfish interests. We hereby warn them to have a rethink. The North-Central has historically been a secular region and we will not allow self-serving individuals to use religion to divide our people,” the statement added.
The Forum alleged that the particular politicians pushing the religious agenda did not support Tinubu and the APC during the 2023 presidential election.
“We know that these are the same people who worked for Labour Party candidate, Mr. Peter Obi, in the last election. They did not support President Bola Tinubu, rather they delivered their polling units to the Labour Party,” the Forum said while urging Tinubu to ignore calls that religion should be considered in selecting the next APC National Chairman.
Instead of considering religion, the North-Central APC Forum urged Tinubu to consider track records in making appointments.
“Only individuals with proven track records should be considered for appointment into any position, that is the only way to maintain the growth, progress and dominance of the APC. Any other consideration, including religion, should be jettisoned.
“Our endorsement of Alhaji Tanko Al-Makura for the position of National Chairman is based on his track records – as a loyal, committed party man and a political office holder who had served as a governor and a senator.
“We believe that the party, and the country in general, will be better if track record is considered when appointments are made,” the statement said.
Restating the endorsement of Al-Makura for the position of APC National Chairman, the Forum noted that he is from the North-Central, particularly Nasarawa State, where the removed former national chairman, Abdullahi Adamu, hails from.
The Forum further observed that Al-Makura is from the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) bloc which is part of the three legacy parties that merged to form the APC. It noted that among the three legacy parties – the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) and the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) – the CPC bloc is the only one that has not held the APC chairmanship position.
The statement added, “Senator Tanko Al-Makura was a two-term governor whose clout and experience are pluses and both former and sitting governors will see him as one of their own.
“He was a former Senator who will be seen as part and parcel of the legislature. He was among the chairmanship aspirants who accepted without grudges the consensus option that threw up Abdullahi Adamu as National Chairman during the APC National Convention in 2022. His loyalty to APC and Mr. President is not in doubt.
“He has discharged critical party assignments in the country that gave him first hand ideas and intrinsic knowledge of the party nationally.”
The party assignments include Chairman, Ekiti State APC Primary Election Committee that produced former Governor Kayode Fayemi in 2018. Al-Makura also served as the Chairman of the North-East Zone Reconciliation Committee in 2018, and equally as a member of the Baba Bisi Akande APC Reconciliation Committee in 2020.
“He has a very rich experience and knowledge of political activities as he was Youth Leader (Plateau State) in National Party of Nigeria (NPN) – 1979; State Secretary (Plateau State) in National Republican Convention– 1989; founding member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) – 1999; Governor on the platform of the CPC – 2011; pioneer member and signatory to the merger that found APC – 2013 and APC Senator – 2019,” the statement added.
The North-Central APC Forum also pointed out that Al-Makura was among the CPC bloc stakeholders who stood by the APC and President Bola Tinubu when some members wanted to pull out of the party and join the opposition coalition, earlier in 2025.