The chairmanship ambitions of former governors Abdulazeez Yari, Kashim Shettima, Ali Modu Sheriff, Danjuma Goje and Isa Yuguda suffered a huge setback following the decision of the All Progressives Congress (APC) to zone the chairmanship seat of the party to the North-Central zone.
The Caretaker/Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee (CECPC) had on Wednesday approved the zoning of offices ahead of the March 26 National Convention.
While the chairmanship position was zoned to North-Central, the office of the National Secretary went to South-West.
Others are National Publicity Secretary (South-South), National Youth Leader (South-West), National Treasurer (South-East), National Auditor (North-East), Legal Adviser (North-West) and National Woman Leader (South-South).
The decision to zone the chairmanship to the North-Central serves as a major boost to chairmanship aspirants from the zone such as former Nasasawa State Governors and Serving Senators Abdullahi Adamu and Umaru Tanko Al-Makura.
While Abdullahi Adamu who currently represents Nasarawa West in the senate served as Governor between 1999 to 2007, Tanko Al-Makura who represents Nasarawa South in the senate governed the state between 2011 to 2019.
Adamu is believed to enjoy the backing of President Muhammadu Buhari while Al-Makura has the support of most progressive governors. It is believed that the President will try to broker a truce between the two Nasarawa politicians with a view of coming up with a consensus candidate.
Another strong contender from the North-Central is George Akume, a former governor of Benue State and current Minister of Special Duties and Intergovernmental Affairs.
Akume, who also served as a senator between 2011 to 2015 is believed to enjoy the support of some party stalwarts.
Other North-Central contenders include Turakin Ilorin, Mallam Saliu Mustapha; Senator Sani Mohammed Musa; a former Chief Whip of the House of Representatives, Hon. Bawa Bwari; and Mohammed Etsu.
The zoning of the chairmanship to the North-Central effectively ends the ambitions of other contenders from other zones.
Ex-governor Abdulaziz Yari who has been campaigning for the position of chairman is from Zamfara, a state in the North-West zone.
Also, chairmanship aspirants from the North-East such as former Borno State governor, Ali Modu Sheriff; former Gombe State governor, Danjuma Goje; and former Bauchi State governor Isa Yuguda are out of the race.
