Former Governor of Kano State, Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, was reportedly compelled to resign as national chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) to pave the way for the defection of the leader of the Kwankwasiyya Movement, Senator Rabi Kwankwaso, to the ruling party.
Naija News reports that Ganduje tendered his resignation letter on June 27, 2025, citing health reasons.
However, sources who spoke with Daily Trust linked Ganduje’s resignation to permutations ahead of the 2027 presidential election.
A source close to the former chairman stated that the head of one of the security agencies reportedly visited Ganduje’s residence around 2 a.m. on Friday to demand his resignation letter.
The source also disclosed that a governor from the North East, who has been very active in the party, and a prominent politician from the North West, close to the president, visited Ganduje on Friday to console him over the development.
The source said, “We are all shocked. We didn’t see it coming.”
Kwankwaso’s Expected Defection To APC
Speaking on the motive behind Ganduje’s resignation, another source said President Bola Tinubu was informed that Kwankwaso was considering joining the opposition coalition led by former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar.
According to the source, Tinubu may have realised that retaining Ganduje would make it harder to bring Kwankwaso and other political heavyweights from various states into the APC.
The source said, “You know Kwankwaso gave the president one condition for rejoining the APC: Ganduje’s removal as national chairman. With Ganduje in charge, Kwankwaso couldn’t assume party leadership in Kano.
“We learnt that the president was informed that Kwankwaso had been approached by the Atiku-led coalition and was already considering the offer. That may have triggered Ganduje’s removal.”
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