A wave of demonstrators descended on the national secretariat of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Abuja, demanding the resignation of Dr. Abdullahi Ganduje, the National Chairman. The demand stems from his recent suspension by a faction of his ward executives and allegations of bribery leveled against him by the Kano State government.

Chanting slogans and brandishing banners with messages like “Ganduje must resign” and “Return APC chairmanship to North Central,” the protesters urged President Bola Tinubu and Secretary to the Government of the Federation, George Akume, to reconsider the party’s leadership placement within their region.

The demonstration follows a vote of confidence passed on Ganduje by the Forum of APC State Chairmen, who endorsed his continuance as national chairman during a solidarity visit to the party’s headquarters.

Ganduje’s latest suspension by a faction of the Ganduje Ward in Dawakin Tofa Local Government Area of Kano has drawn scrutiny, with the ruling party attributing it to alleged impostors purportedly backed by the state government.

Addressing the media, protesters under the banner of Concerned North Central APC Stakeholders expressed discontent over Ganduje’s tenure, citing it as a violation of the party’s zoning principles.

Leader of the demonstrators, Mohammed Mahmud Saba, emphasized that unlike the 37 APC state chairmen, North Central stakeholders had passed a vote of no confidence in the national chairman and demanded his immediate resignation.

Saba highlighted the perceived injustice in Ganduje’s ascension to the national chairmanship, stating that it had disenfranchised North Central APC members. He called for adherence to the party’s 2022 National Convention zoning arrangements, which designated the office of the national chairman to the North Central region.

“We demand that Dr. Umar Ganduje resign immediately and cease to act as the National Chairman of our great party,” Saba declared. “The zoning arrangements made by the National Convention in 2022 must be respected, and all governors elected on the platform of the APC in the North Central should mobilize their members against this impunity until Ganduje resigns.”