As the All Progressives Congress (APC) prepares for its crucial National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting on Thursday, June 24, 2025, the North-Central APC Forum has called on President Bola Tinubu and party leaders to return the position of National Chairman to the region in line with the party’s zoning arrangement.
In a statement released in Abuja on Tuesday and signed by the Forum’s Chairman, Alhaji Saleh Zazzaga, the group insisted that reinstating the North-Central as the seat of the party’s leadership would be the fairest and most equitable decision.
The NEC is expected to deliberate on key issues, including the appointment of a substantive National Chairman to replace Dr. Abdullahi Ganduje, who resigned on June 27, 2025. The position is currently held in acting capacity by Ali Bukar Dalori, Deputy National Chairman (North), from Borno State in the North-East.
Zazzaga, a member of the APC Presidential Campaign Council in 2023, emphasized that the North-Central deserves the position not only because of the existing zoning structure but also due to its consistent contributions to the party’s success.
“The North-Central has over the years played an important and strategic role in the progress and growth of the APC. Any decision that goes contrary to returning the position of National Chairman to the region will amount to betrayal,” he stated.
The Forum highlighted the region’s performance during the 2023 presidential election, where President Tinubu polled 1,760,993 votes, the third-highest by any zone, behind only the South-West and North-West. The zone also boasts the highest number of APC governors — five out of six North-Central states are currently controlled by the party.
The Forum strongly opposed any plans to extend Dalori’s acting tenure, warning that doing so would effectively marginalize the North-Central, which had previously produced Abdullahi Adamu as National Chairman before his resignation in 2023.
In response to concerns raised by the All Progressives Stakeholders Forum, which cautioned against any leadership reshuffling, the North-Central Forum dismissed the fears of instability. Instead, it argued that reinstating the North-Central would demonstrate the APC’s commitment to fairness and reinvigorate internal cohesion.
“The North-Central has done more for the APC than the North-East, where the opposition won in the 2023 election despite the Vice President hailing from the region,” the statement added.
The Forum concluded by urging President Tinubu to act decisively and ensure that a competent leader from the North-Central is appointed as National Chairman, warning that failure to do so could demoralize the region’s stakeholders and weaken support for the party.
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