The All Progressives Congress (APC) held its state party chairperson election in most states of Nigeria today, October 16, as Nigeria’s major parties continue to prepare for the 2023 presidential election.
Kano State, in the north, is one of the APC-controlled states, with Governor Dr Abdullahi Umar Ganduje at the helm. Kano state joined the list of states having party chairmanship elections today. However, allegations are that the APC is split in Kano due to a schism between Governor Ganduje and Kano Central Senator Dr Mallam Ibrahim Shekarau.
According to sources, Governor Ganduje oversaw the party leadership election at the Sani Abacha Stadium in Kofar Mata, Nassarawa Local Government Area. He nominated the Honorable Abdullahi Abbas as APC chairman in Kano State. Senator Shekarau presided over the Sani Abacha Youth Center election, then named the Honorable Abdullahi Danzago as the party’s head. Still, subsequent reports claimed that the police had interrupted the poll owing to an APC constitution restriction.
The event caused debate among APC members, leading to the party’s division into two groups, one backing Governor Ganduje and the other supporting Shekarau.
Given the APC’s prominence in Kano, which has been a barrier to Kwankwaso in fielding a candidate to lead the state, the APC crisis has been a source of delight for the former governor and former Kano Central senator, Engr Dr Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, and his People Democratic Party (PDP).
Senator Shekarau, as you may know, left the PDP to join the APC after the 2019 Kano State gubernatorial election, bolstering Governor Ganduje’s campaign for a second term. The election results were declared “inconclusive,” Kwankwaso’s nominee, Engr Abba Kabir Yusuf (Abba Gida-Gida) of the PDP, failed to win elections in the state as a whole.
After a lengthy legal struggle, Ganduje was proclaimed elected governor.
As a result, the APC’s strength in Kano is expected to be weakened due to the Ganduje-Shekarau dispute. Thus, Kwankwaso and his PDP would rejoice because their requests for the Kano State President will be granted quickly and without opposition.
