The North-Central Forum of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has thrown its support behind former Nasarawa State governor, Senator Tanko Al-Makura, as its preferred candidate for the position of National Chairman of the ruling party.
In a statement issued in Abuja on Sunday, Forum Chairman, Alhaji Saleh Zazzaga, said the endorsement followed “extensive consultations” among APC stakeholders across the North-Central geopolitical zone.
Titled ‘Why Al-Makura deserves to be APC National Chairman’, the statement noted that Al-Makura hails from Nasarawa State, which previously produced former APC National Chairman, Abdullahi Adamu.
The Forum emphasized that Al-Makura represents the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) bloc, one of the three legacy parties that merged to form the APC. Unlike the other two legacy parties, the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) and the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP), the CPC has yet to produce a national chairman.
“Senator Tanko Al-Makura was a two-term Governor whose clout and experience are pluses and both former and sitting governors will see him as one of their own. He was a former Senator who was seen as part and parcel of legislature. He was among the chairmanship aspirants who accepted without grudges to the consensus option that threw up Abdullahi Adamu as National Chairman during the APC National Convention in 2022.
His loyalty to APC and Mr. President is not in doubt,” the statement said.
The Forum also highlighted Al-Makura’s role in key party activities and leadership assignments, which they say have given him a deep understanding of APC’s national structure.
“He has discharged critical party assignments in the country that gave him first hand ideas and intrinsic knowledge of the party nationally,” the statement noted.
These roles include chairing the 2018 Ekiti State APC Primary Election Committee, which produced former Governor Kayode Fayemi, leading the North-East Zone Reconciliation Committee in the same year, and serving on the Baba Bisi Akande Reconciliation Committee in 2020.
The statement also outlined Al-Makura’s extensive political experience:
“Has a very rich experience and knowledge of political activities as he was Youth Leader (Plateau State) in National Party of Nigeria (NPN) – 1979; State Secretary (Plateau State) in National Republican Convention– 1989; founding member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) – 1999; Governor on the platform of the CPC – 2011; pioneer member and signatory to the merger that found APC – 2013 and APC Senator – 2019,” it added.
The Forum pointed out that Al-Makura was one of the CPC stalwarts who remained loyal to the APC and President Bola Tinubu during a turbulent period earlier in 2025, when some bloc members considered leaving the party.
“He is a bridge builder and an advocate of inclusivity as he relates with the disability community that has over 20 million people as he is also a person living with disability,” the Forum said.
The endorsement comes just a day after the North-Central APC Forum issued a separate statement demanding the return of the National Chairman position to the region, citing the existing zoning arrangement within the party.
Abdullahi Adamu had been appointed APC National Chairman in March 2022 under the North-Central zoning arrangement but resigned in July 2023 before completing his term. His successor, Abdullahi Ganduje, took over in August 2023 but also stepped down on June 27, 2025.
Following Ganduje’s resignation, the Forum renewed its push for the North-Central to retain the position and complete the remaining tenure.
“After extensive deliberations among stakeholders of the North-Central region, the North-Central APC Forum has decided to endorse Senator Tanko Al-Makura for the position of APC National Chairman. This is furtherance of our demand that the position of National Chairman should return to the North-Central in line with the zoning arrangement of the APC,” the statement released by the Forum on Sunday said.
