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By Marcel Ezenwa

On Thursday, August 3, 2023, the former Governor of Kano State, Alhaji Abdullahi Umar Ganduje emerged as the National Chairman of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) after he was elected at a meeting of the National Executive Committee (NEC) of the party.

His emergence at the top echelon of the ruling party came at a time the APC needed stability to manage its victory after the 2023 general elections.

In his reaction after his election, Alhaji Ganduje thanked President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and promised that internal democracy would prevail in the party during his tenure while also thanking Progressive Governors’ Forum (PGF) and the party’s key stakeholders for their dedication, diligence and strategic role to its development.

With clear understanding of the enormity of the confidence placed in him by the leaders and members of the APC, the National Chairman of APC unswervingly resolved to honour that trust and humbly accepted his appointment.

He said, “Our main focus will be promoting party unity and defending and increasing the number of executive and legislative seats we currently hold.

“Under my watch, internal democracy will be strictly adhered to with a deliberate policy to engage in wider consultations and making party functional throughout the year.

“More reforms will be carried out in the party in alignment with the current political landscape.

“We all agreed that we must unite our members to achieve support for our government to respond adequately, urgently and assertively to the challenges that Nigerians confront on a daily basis,” Ganduje said.

Alhaji Ganduje had at the time listed the challenges ahead of him and the party to include unemployment, poverty, insecurity, social cohesion and the rising cost of living.

Raising the hope of the masses, the party’s National Chairman appealed to Nigerians to bear with President Tinubu, assuring that when his policies and programmes fully take shape, the President would certainly turn around things for the better.

While Nigerians patiently await for President Tinubu administration to fully implement measures that could turn around a battered economy he inherited as well as minimise insecurity in the country, the leadership of his party, under watch of Alhaji Abdullahi Ganduje, has been on top of the game as fair as the party affairs are concerned.

Before his emergence, the APC obviously faced turbulent leadership crises that raged consistently for several months, leading to casualties as active members of NWC, including the erstwhile National Chairman, Abdullahi Adamu, the National Secretary, Iyiola Omisore, National Vice Chairman, North West, Salihu Moh Lukman, and the National Legal Adviser, Ahmed El-Marzuk, became victims of the crises following their eventual voluntary resignation.

However, since the former Governor assumed office, merely five months ago, the crises have not only simmered down, the party has regained stability and is better positioned for the challenges ahead of the 2027 general elections. This brings to mind the most famous King Midas who is popularly remembered in Greek mythology for his extraordinary ability to turn everything he touched into pure gold.

The Alhaji Abdullahi Ganduje’s golden touch on the APC leadership squarely fits into the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu as only a stable ruling party can stabilise Nigeria’s ailing economy, create jobs and reduce unemployment in the country.

By restoring party supremacy and discipline through exemplary leadership, the APC national chairman has minimised distractions for the young administration of President Tinubu and has created a peaceful internal party front that will enable the President to focus on good governance rather than battling with resolution of party crises as in the past.

To underscore the independent mindedness and experience of the two-term governor of Kano State, Alhaji Ganduje unambiguously told a visiting director of election and party monitoring for the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Hawa Habibu, that while insecurity is a huge concern for the conduct of elections in the country, politicians also constitute a hazard.

He said, “So, in order to understand the rules and regulations of elections in order to understand what is required to be a civilized politician, our institutions will be educating our people from time to time so that they can abide by the rules, and it will be digital.

“We have also directed that in all our party offices, ranging from wards to local government, zones, and states, basically the officers must be available.”

Those are the words of an experienced party administrator who understands the local political terrain and knows what the problems are.

Alhaji Abdullahi Ganduje has been working more, doing less of talking, and getting results that has brought stability to the APC, positioning it to not only sustain its gains as an opposition party turned a ruling party but to also become a beautiful bride for both politicians and the electorate in the country.

Ezenwa is the Director General of the Asiwaju Global Foundation For Peace And Empowerment. He can be reached via 08072454488 or marcelezenwa@gmail.com

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