North-Central APC Forum Urges President Tinubu to Vet Candidates for 2026 National Convention
Ahead of the All Progressives Congress (APC) national convention scheduled for March 2026, a key faction within Nigeria’s ruling party has called on President Bola Tinubu to personally oversee the vetting of candidates for the party’s top leadership positions.
The North-Central APC Forum, in a statement on Thursday, argued that the party’s recent expansion—fueled by the defection of several opposition governors—necessitates a leadership with proven capacity and national stature. The convention will elect members of the National Working Committee (NWC), including the national chairman.
The Forum, led by Chairman Alhaji Saleh Zazzaga, specified that candidates must possess a distinguished track record, extensive political experience, and statesmanlike age. It stressed that academic qualifications are secondary to demonstrated political sagacity and the ability to manage a party comprising many prominent figures.
“A proper APC national chairman should be somebody whose age accords him the status of a statesman, not an inexperienced fellow,” the statement read, adding that past electoral performance at the grassroots level should be a key benchmark.
Urging President Tinubu to take charge of a rigorous vetting process, the Forum emphasized that the chosen leaders must be non-sectarian. It called for a chairman who does not lean on religious or ethnic sentiments, asserting that Nigeria is a secular nation and party leadership must reflect that principle. The group warned against candidates who might prioritize personal commercial interests over the party’s collective good.
The appeal highlights internal anxiety within the APC over its direction as it prepares for the 2026 leadership polls. The Forum’s demands for a credible, experienced, and unifying leadership underscore the high stakes as the party seeks to consolidate its dominance ahead of future elections. President Tinubu, as both the national leader of the APC and the country’s president, faces mounting pressure to influence a convention seen as critical to the party’s cohesion and electoral strategy.
