Leadership Dynamics and the Pursuit of Inclusivity in the APC’s Power Structure

By Chief Okoi Obono-Obla

The All Progressives Congress was a merger between the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), the defunct All Nigerian Peoples Party (ANPP), the defunct Congress for Progressives Change (CPC), a faction of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), and a faction of the defunct Democratic Peoples Party. The APC was registered by the Independent National Electoral Commission on 31 July 2013.

After its registration, some politicians, including Dr. Bukola Saraki, H.E. Atiku Abubakar, H.E. Rt. Honourable Rotimi Amaechi, Dr. Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, etc., defected from the PDP to join the APC under the aegis of the NewPDP in May 2018.

However, many members of the NewPDP defected again from the APC to the PDP, including Dr. Bukola Saraki, H.E. Atiku Abubakar, H.E. Dr. Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, etc., in 2018.

Since 2013, six national chairmen have been produced by the APC. The six chairmen are:

• Chief Bisi Akande (2013–2014) (from the defunct ACN bloc),
• Chief John Odigie-Oyegun (2014–2018) (from the defunct ACN bloc),
• Comrade Adams Oshiomhole (2018–2020) (from the defunct ACN bloc),
• Mai Mala Buni (2020–2022) (from the defunct ANPP bloc),
• Senator Abdullahi Adamu (2022–2023) (from the defunct NewPDP bloc but joined the APC in 2018), and
• Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje (2023–2025) (from the NewPDP bloc).

However, blocs such as the defunct CPC and APGA have never produced a National Chairman of the party.

Now that there is a substantive leadership vacuum following the sudden resignation of Dr. Abdullahi Ganduje on 27 June 2025, it would be, for inclusivity, wise for the leadership to reflect and begin to consider the possibility of having a substantive National Chairman from blocs that have not been given the opportunity—such as the CPC—to appease ruffled feathers within it.

In conclusion, equitable representation across all founding blocs may be key to restoring internal cohesion and strengthening party unity moving forward.

Chief Okoi Obono-Obla