By TAIWO AMODU, Abuja

As the All Progressives Congress (APC) Caretaker/Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee, (CECPC) sustains its denial on the zoning arrangement for national offices ahead of its scheduled February national convention, Sunday Tribune investigation has revealed that individual ambitions of certain governors and chieftains with eyes on 2023 general election are partly responsible for the evasiveness trailing which zone gets what in the next month exercise.

Findings by Sunday Tribune revealed that two governors of the party from the North-East zone have been accused of smarting for the slot of vice president and are pushing for the zoning of national chairmanship of the party out of their geopolitical zone.

In the race for the exalted office of national chairman from the North-East zone are former Bauchi State governor and former Minister of Aviation, Mallam Isa Yuguda; two-term governor of Borno State and former chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, Senator Ali Modu Sheriff and a chieftain of the party from Adamawa State, Chief Sylvester Moniedafe.

While Borno and Yobe states are under the grip of the APC, both Bauchi and Adamawa are under the control of the main opposition party, PDP. A party source told Sunday Tribune that two of the APC governors who on their first term, Mai Mala Buni and Babagana Zulum are indifferent to the emergence of national chairman from the North-East, having been talked into the presidential project of certain aspirants.

Incidentally, the Yobe State governor is the Chairman of the APC Caretaker/ Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee, put in place by the APC National Executive Committee in June 2020.

The source disclosed that apart from allegedly working to preclude Senator Ali Modu Sheriff from the race, the Borno State governor also has to contend with the speculated vice presidential ambition of his political godfather, former governor of the state and Senator representing Borno Central, Kashim Shettima.

“The chairman Senate Committee on Interior is one of the party chieftains at the vanguard of the presidential ambition of former Lagos State governor, Bola Tinubu and he is amongst those penciled in the VP slot.

“While it is easy to checkmate Senator Ali Modu Sheriff at the home front, upstaging Senator Shettima is a big task for Governor Zulum,” the source said.

Apparently aware of the plot against his chairmanship aspiration, Sheriff told newsmen that those pushing the narrative that the position of national chairman has been zoned to the North-Central were afraid of his political stature and “are desperately scheming” to shut him out of the national convention.

“I am running for national chairman and what I want is to help the president to maintain his legacy by handing over to someone from the APC. “Some people are afraid because they know that I am competent to do what I am aspiring to do,” he said.

Mamman Mohammed, Director General Press and Media Affairs to Yobe State governor, however, denied allegation that his principal was scheming to pick the vice president ticket of the APC.

He told Sunday Tribune on phone that Governor Buni’s mission at the party national secretariat was to conduct a successful national convention acceptable to all stakeholders and put the ruling party in good stead to retain the states under its control as well as the central government.

“We have heard this rumour for quite a long time. But like I said, he hasn’t discussed such ambition with anybody. It is a rumour and remains a rumour,” he said.

Isa Gusau, media aide to Borno State Governor could not be reached on phone. But a chieftain of the APC from North-East, who spoke to Sunday Tribune in confidence, however, dismissed insinuation of the move by APC governors in the zone to frustrate the emergence of national chairman from the North-East.

While he said he was aware of the VP aspiration of Senator Shettima, he denied plot by Governor Zulum to position himself for the position of vice president in the ruling party. He maintained that holding the office of the national chairman would not even disqualify the zone from producing a vice president in 2023.

“Who says the North-East doesn’t want to produce national chairman? For us, a bird in hand is worth more than two in the bush. Today, the North-East has Senate President and national chairman. Neither Zulum nor Governor Buni is against North-East producing national chairman.

“It is actually those who don’t want Ali Modu Sheriff that are pushing the narrative that our governors don’t want the national chairman retained in the zone,” he said.

Battle moves to North Central?

Further investigation revealed that despite the rebuttal on zoning of national chairman to the North Central, the race for the office will ultimately be fought and won in the zone.

In the race for the administration of APC national secretariat from the zone are Senator representing Niger East at the national Assembly, Sani Musa; former Benue State governor and Minister of Special Duties, George Akume; former Nasarawa State governor and Senator representing Nasarawa Central, Tanko Al-Makura and a chieftain of the party from Kwara State, Saliu Mustapha.

In the North-Central zone, apart from the Kogi State governor, Yahaya Bello, who is opposed to the zoning of the office to the NorthCentral zone because of his presidential ambition, all the other governors are not.

A Sunday Tribune source revealed that “the Nasarawa State governor, Abdullahi Sule, is doing everything possible to ensure that Tanko Al-Makura carries the ticket.

“The race is, however, a straight fight between him and Senator Sani Musa,” the source further revealed. (Sunday Tribune)

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