A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress, Garus Gololo, has ruled out the possibility of a member of the House of Representatives, Abiodun Faleke, succeeding Adamu Abdullahi as the party’s National Chairman.
Adamu and Iyiola Omisore had on Sunday night resigned as National Chairman and National Secretary, respectively, of the party, with the Deputy National Chairman (North), Abubakar Kyari, taking over leadership of the party affairs in an acting capacity.
With calls for the National Chairman position to remain in the North-Central, party chieftains like former Nasarawa State governor Tanko Al-Makura; former governor of Niger State, Abu Lolo; former Deputy Governor of Nasarawa State, Silas Ali Agara, and a former governor of Plateau State have been tipped as favorites to replace Adamu.
Speaking to The PUNCH, Gololo ruled out President Bola Tinubu’s ally, Faleke, for the position, stressing that the lawmaker represents Ikeja Federal Constituency of Lagos State and, as such, does not qualify for consideration for the vacant office even though he is originally from Kogi State.
Gololo said, “Faleke can never become the APC National Chairman because he represents Lagos State in the National Assembly even though he is originally from Kogi State. It is not possible for us to have a President from Lagos State and a party chairman from the same Lagos. He is trying to be smart, but it is not going to be possible.
“Faleke may push for this (National Chairmanship of the APC), but we are not going to accept it. He is a lawmaker from Lagos State, not a lawmaker from Kogi State. If he knows he is from Kogi State, let him go and register as a member of the party in his State’s constituency. I am solidly behind Al-Makura. He is a good material for the job who can hold the party firmly.
“It is a party decision, but I am a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress. I don’t know what the party will decide. The National Chairmanship of the APC will still be retained in the North Central. We may still retain it in Nasarawa because we are targeting the former Governor of that State, Tanko Al-Makura. We also have Sani Musa from Niger State in mind.
“If we want to be fair to all sections of the country, the next National Secretary should come from the South-East. The President is from the South-West, the secretary of the party is not supposed to come from the South-West.
“We did our convention before the elections, but I think this is the opportunity to bring a sense of balance in the power equation of the party. The secretary should come from the South-East.”
