The All Progressive Congress (APC)’s national convention screening sub-committee is expected to unveil the list of its aspirants contesting for the position of the national chairman of the party at the end of its exercise soon.
The screening committee began assessment of the aspirants at the Katsina State Governor’s Lodge, Asokoro, Abuja, Tuesday night
Among the contenders are three serving senators, Tanko Al-Makura (Nasarawa South), Abdullahi Adamu (Nasarawa West), and Mohammed Sani Musa (Niger East).
Both Adamu and Al-Makura at different times, ruled Nasarawa State as its chief executives for two terms of four years each.
Other contestants include Minister of Special Duties and former Governor of Benue State, George Akume; a former governor of Zamfara State, Abdulaziz Yari; Saliu Mustapha and Mohammed Seidu Etsu.
A former governor of Borno State, Senator Ali Modu Sheriff, who earlier purchased form to vie for the position, withdrew from the race thereby bringing the number of contenders to six.
21st CENTURY CHRONICLE takes a look at where each of the aspirants stands in the race for Saturday, March 26, 2022.
Abdullahi Adamu
Adamu has been speculated to enjoy the endorsement of President Muhammadu Buhari for the position. However, neither the president nor his media handlers have come out to deny or support the claim. But analysts believe that the Nasarawa senator boasts of intimidating experience that stands him out and places him in an advantageous position for the job.
Adamu was a two-term governor and has been in the senate for three consecutive terms. He joined active politics in 1977 and was in the Constituent Assembly in 1979. He was a founding member of the National Party of Nigeria (NPN) and its first secretary-general in old Plateau State, and later chairman. He also played an active part in the National Constitutional Conference in 1994; became minister in 1995; joined the United Nigeria Congress Party (UNCP) and joined others to form the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on which platform he became governor.
After the end of his two-term governorship Adamu was elected to the senate in 2011.
Umaru Tanko Al-Makura
Like Adamu, Al-Makura is also a frontline contender for the national chairmanship seat, with analysts saying he possesses the right experience and credentials to lead the party through the next elections. Al-Makura also governed Nasarawa State for two terms and was also a founding member of PDP before exiting the party for the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) on which platform he rose to power during the 2011 governorship election in his state.
The CPC elements within the legacy parties that birthed the APC feel it is their turn to produce the next national chairman of the party and are backing his candidature. Elements within the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) and Alliance for Democracy (AD) also prefer him for the job. Al-Makura also started his political journey early, becoming the youth leader of NPN in the old Plateau State. He was part of the Constituent Assembly between 1988 and 89. He was state secretary of the National Republican Convention (NRC) in Plateau State from 1990 to 1992. He is a serving senator.
George Akume
Like the duo of Adamu and Al-Makura, Akume equally served two terms of four years as governor of Benue State. He was also in the senate three times for Benue West Senatorial District under different political platforms: PDP, ACN and APC. He is currently the minister for special duties.
Those supporting his aspiration believe his emergence brings some measure of religious balance to the party’s leadership. Borno State Governor, Babagana Zulum re-echoed the position when he said that Akume’s candidature would give stakeholders and members who were Christians a sense of belonging, noting that APC was “never a political party for the Muslims alone.” He is now a minister of special duties.
Abdulaziz Yari
Yari is unarguably one of the most influential politicians in Zamfara State and has been a consistent party man since he served as ANPP state secretary between 1999 and 2003. He was to become the party’s state chairman and later the national financial secretary. He won the House of Representatives seat for Anka/Talata Mafara Federal Constituency and later emerged governor on the party’s platform in 2011. He repeated the feat in 2015 even when the party fused into APC along with others. He was elected as senator in 2019.
Yari was chairman Nigeria Governors Forum and also served as ANPP caretaker committee chairman at various times. His decision to join the APC national chairmanship race despite the fact that the position has been zoned to the North Central came as a surprise to some stakeholders.
But he insisted on going ahead with his aspiration, stating that there is no clause in the party’s constitution that “bars me from running for any position.”
Mohammed Sani Musa
Musa, popularly known as Sani 313, took Niger State politics by storm in 2019, winning the party’s contentious primary and going ahead to win the Niger East senatorial seat. He survived the many litigations that trailed the exercise up the Supreme Court.
Many had argued that his entrance into the national chairmanship race was hasty, adding that he ought to have consolidated his position within the state’s political scene before foraying into national politics.
He is, however, said to be backing on his friendship with the Niger State governor, Abubakar Sani Bello, who is also an influential member of the national caretaker committee, to aid his aspiration.
Saliu Mustapha
The Kwara-born politician is also one the defunct CPC stalwarts in the race. Like Al-Makura, he is also said to be Buhari’s man. He also cut his political teeth early and has been in and around the political scene for a while. He was the pioneer national publicity secretary of the defunct Progressive Action Congress (PAC).
He joined ANPP ahead of the 2009 elections and followed Buhari to CPC when the party was formed and became the deputy national chairman of the party. He participated in the merger that birthed the APC as one of the CPC’s anchor men.
Mohammed Seidu Etsu
Etsu is the youngest among the contenders in the race, being only 36 years old. Before joining the contest, he held the position of Senior Special Assistant to Niger State Governor on Rural Electrification. He was also the ANPP youth leader in Edati LGA of Niger State and was a member of the campaign council of President Muhammadu Buhari in 2015 and 2019.
His campaign slogan for the national chairmanship position is “APC Reset Agenda”. He believes the time is ripe for the young people to take over the country’s political space in all facets, noting that the old politicians have failed.
