The North-Central All Progressives Congress (APC) Forum has officially endorsed former Nasarawa State Governor, Alhaji Tanko Al-Makura, for the position of National Chairman of the party. This endorsement, announced in a statement released in Abuja on Sunday by the Forum’s Chairman, Alhaji Saleh Zazzaga, follows extensive consultations among APC stakeholders in the region.
The Forum’s decision comes barely 24 hours after it publicly demanded the return of the National Chairman position to the North-Central. This demand is rooted in the party’s subsisting zoning arrangement, which allocated the chairmanship to the region. The immediate past National Chairman, Abdullahi Adamu, also from Nasarawa State, resigned in July 2023 without completing his tenure. His successor, Abdullahi Ganduje, who was appointed in August 2023, resigned on June 27, 2025, prompting the North-Central Forum to assert its right to complete the unexpired term.
In a statement titled, ‘Why Al-Makura deserves to be APC National Chairman,’ the Forum highlighted several reasons for their choice. Crucially, Al-Makura hails from the North-Central, specifically Nasarawa State, the same state as the removed former chairman, Abdullahi Adamu.
Furthermore, the Forum emphasized Al-Makura’s affiliation with the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) bloc, one of the three legacy parties (alongside Action Congress of Nigeria and All Nigeria Peoples Party) that merged to form the APC. They noted that the CPC bloc is the only one among the three that has yet to hold the APC chairmanship position.
“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,” the statement read. “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 Forum also underscored Al-Makura’s extensive experience in critical party assignments, including serving as Chairman of the Ekiti State APC Primary Election Committee in 2018, Chairman of the North-East Zone Reconciliation Committee in 2018, and a member of the Baba Bisi Akande Reconciliation Committee in 2020.
His rich political history further bolsters his credentials, having served as Youth Leader (Plateau State) in the National Party of Nigeria (NPN) in 1979, State Secretary (Plateau State) in the National Republican Convention in 1989, a founding member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in 1999, Governor on the platform of the CPC in 2011, a pioneer member and signatory to the merger that formed APC in 2013, and an APC Senator in 2019.
The North-Central APC Forum also praised Al-Makura for his steadfast loyalty, noting that he was among the CPC bloc stakeholders who stood by the APC and President Bola Tinubu when some members considered joining the opposition coalition earlier in 2025.
Describing him as “a bridge builder and an advocate of inclusivity,” the Forum highlighted his engagement with the disability community, noting that he himself is a person living with a disability.
The endorsement reaffirms the North-Central APC Forum’s commitment to upholding the party’s zoning arrangement, ensuring the region completes the unexpired tenure of the National Chairman.
