Barring any last-minute changes, the All Progressives Congress is expected to constitute a convention planning committee during its National Executive Committee meeting scheduled for July 24.
According to The PUNCH, the committee will oversee preparations for the party’s National Elective Convention in December, where new members of the National Working Committee will be elected.
Reliable party sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity, revealed that apart from replacing the national chairman, APC governors and other NEC members are pushing for a full elective convention to replace all current NWC members ahead of the 2027 elections.
Meanwhile, several NWC members have reportedly begun lobbying to limit the shake-up to just the replacement of the acting national chairman, Ali Bukar Dalori.
Article 12 (4) of the APC Constitution 2022 (as amended) lists the 22 positions that make up the National Working Committee, including the National Chairman, Deputy National Chairmen (North and South), National Secretary, six National Vice Chairmen (one per geopolitical zone), National Legal Adviser, National Treasurer, and other key officers.
Article 17 of the constitution stipulates that all party officers shall serve four-year terms, renewable for another four years, with exceptions for those filling vacancies. However, no national chairman or NWC member has completed a full term since the party’s inception, with tenures often cut short by resignations or internal politics.
The most recent example was the June 27 resignation of former Kano State Governor Abdullahi Ganduje as national chairman, reportedly linked to strategic positioning ahead of 2027.
On June 30, APC Deputy National Secretary Festus Fuanter announced the July 24 NEC meeting, stating: “And during the meeting, if they so desire that a new chairman is nominated, we’ll also accept such nomination and then wait for the convention where the final position of the party will be made as far as the substantive chairman is concerned. So, that’s as much as I can tell you. And the date, the suggested date for the NEC meeting is the 24th of July, 2025. It’s going to be here, on the premises of the APC.”
A reliable source told The PUNCH that Dalori is expected to remain in office until December when new NWC members will be elected: “Most of the critical stakeholders and even the Presidency are not interested in nominating a new national chairman during the NEC meeting slated for July. What many have supported so far is an elective convention. So, at the NEC, the party may constitute a convention planning committee. I said this because the governors and other party leaders want a total change of the current NWC.”
Another source confirmed plans for a December convention to accommodate recent party entrants and influential governors: “The ongoing conversation among party leaders is centered on the December convention…This is seen as crucial to accommodate those who have recently joined the party and those expected to join before then, especially governors who are becoming influential in the APC’s national leadership.”
While some NWC members are lobbying to retain their positions, the broader plan appears to be a complete leadership overhaul in December.
“In the coming days, the governors will brief the President. If he gives his approval, the NEC meeting in July will then constitute the necessary committees,” the source added.
When contacted, APC National Publicity Secretary Felix Morka was unavailable, but Deputy National Publicity Secretary Duro Meseko stated: “There’s nothing like that for now. Everything about whether to have an elective convention by December is for the NEC to decide…Right now, the agenda has not been fixed. But you know, Mr President is back now. He is the leader of the party, and he will relate with the party’s leadership as to the agenda of NEC on that day.”
APC Director of Publicity Bala Ibrahim assured Nigerians to expect a stronger party after the NEC meeting: “Ganduje resigned on his own volition as the chairman of the party…From our July NEC and other meetings, Nigerians should expect a stronger APC, a more determined APC, an APC that will consolidate the gains of what it has done so far and re-emphasise the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Tinubu.”
The stage is now set for crucial party decisions that will shape the APC’s leadership structure heading into the 2027 election cycle.