The former governor of Kano State pledged to promptly begin working to ensure the ruling party’s victory in the upcoming governorship elections scheduled for 11 November 2023 in Imo, Kogi, and Bayelsa. Abdullahi Ganduje, the newly designated national chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), emphasized his commitment to ensuring the party’s victory in these elections.
During his acceptance speech at the 12th APC National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting in the Congress Hall of the Transcorp Hilton in Abuja on Thursday, Ganduje expressed his appreciation to President Bola Tinubu and vowed to uphold internal democracy throughout his tenure. He promised to implement a scientific register of party members while focusing on election administration and conflict resolution, assuring that the party primaries would provide a level playing field for all members.
Kogi, Imo, and Bayelsa, along with Anambra, Edo, Ekiti, Osun, and Ondo, are among the eight states with off-season governorship elections on November 11, 2023, due to past litigation and court decisions.
The All Progressives Congress (APC) won the presidential election and 16 state governorships in this year’s general elections, while the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) secured 10 states, the Labour Party (LP) one state, and the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) one state.
Usman Ododo, a former Auditor General of Local Government for the state of Kogi, is the APC’s candidate for the forthcoming election for governor of Kogi. Timipre Sylva, the former Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, is the party’s candidate in Bayelsa, while Hope Uzodimma, the incumbent Governor of Imo State, seeks re-election for a second term.
Notable is that the APC under Ganduje’s leadership was unable to secure a victory in the March 18, 2023 governorship election, as the NNPP’s candidate, Yusuf Kabir, endorsed by Rabiu Kwankwaso, the NNPP’s presidential candidate, defeated the APC’s candidate, Nasir Gawuna. Kabir received 1,019,602 ballots, exceeding Gawuna’s total of 887,705 votes. The APC also lost to the NNPP in the February 25 election.