2027 permutations: No cold war between Tinubu, Ganduje
Since former Kano State governor, Dr Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, left the position of national chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in June 2025, there have been speculations on his relationship with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. Malam Muhammed Garba, the chief of staff to Ganduje, in this interview cleared the air on some of the […]
Since former Kano State governor, Dr Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, left the position of national chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in June 2025, there have been speculations on his relationship with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. Malam Muhammed Garba, the chief of staff to Ganduje, in this interview cleared the air on some of the issues surrounding the former chairman of the ruling party.
Owing to the manner by which Ganduje left office, there have been speculations that all is not well between him and the president…
Says who? You see people can say anything they want to say based on their understanding. But take it from me, there is nothing like a cold war between Dr Abdullahi Umar Ganduje and the president of Nigeria, Bola Ahmed Tinubu. People keep initiating issues that are not true and keep spreading fake news on issues they know nothing about.
I don’t know why they want to force imaginary things into reality just for their own selfish political reasons.
Is that to say his removal as party chairman hasn’t affected his relationship with the president?
Let me make it clear to everyone, Ganduje wasn’t removed, he resigned after successfully completing almost 90% of the task given to him by Mr President as a party chairman, and this is not an exaggeration. The records are there for everyone to see. And as a human with a lot of experience in leadership, as a dedicated and committed leader, he had been up and doing. He needs to rest after a successful delivery of tasks given to him and also by extension looking at his age and exposure. He believes the party is now more stable than he met it and now that the party has attained a satisfactory level, it is time for him to rest a little and continue with his politicking activities.
Let me also state here that Ganduje and President Tinubu are on good terms, in fact he had to consult him before he tendered his resignation and Mr President told him that if that is what he needs, he can’t stop him. That was how his resignation was accepted.
There is nothing like a rift between them and as far as we know, they are best of friends. They are in constant touch with each other and he has made it vividly clear that he is always ready to work towards the success of Mr President and the APC as a political party.
So, why was Ganduje not in Kano to receive the president he went on a condolence visit to the family of late Aminu Dantata?
Ganduje left Nigeria to England five days after his resignation as chairman of the APC, and if you can remember, one of the reasons he gave was his health. However, it wasn’t anything serious; he needed to rest after rendering his service towards the party’s successes and the nation’s development.
He was in London when Dantata died and wasn’t available in the country to receive Mr President when he paid a condolence visit. Moreover, when people started asking questions, I personally issued a statement on why Ganduje wasn’t there. I made clear that contrary to some speculations suggesting that Ganduje was either unwell or deliberately excluded from the president’s entourage, the former national chairman had travelled to London for a personal engagement that had been arranged in advance. The president’s visit was communicated to Ganduje, but unfortunately, despite frantic efforts to reschedule his flight and itinerary, the logistics made it impossible for him to return in time.
Also, when the vice president came to Kano, the former APC national chairman was also out of the country. He was also not at the Kaduna summit because he was not in town and there is no way he could be there. But I am sure that he was adequately briefed on what happened at the summit.
Why was he also absent during the Kano APC stakeholder’s meeting?
If you should know, the meeting was conducted at his Kano residence. That means he was fully aware and he was in the picture of all the arrangements made for a successful meeting. Perhaps, what I would say he wasn’t aware of was his reaffirmation as the party leader in Kano APC. The state APC stakeholders reaffirmed Ganduje’s leadership in the state and he was surprised that they did without notifying him. This clearly shows that Ganduje is in total control of Kano APC and the party’s stakeholders are with him. This is a clear indication of the confidence the stakeholders have in Ganduje’s ability to once again ensure the party’s victory in 2027.
Is the former governor now fit to return to active politics?
Of course he is. I was with him in London, a few days ago, and I can assure you that he has had enough rest and is ready to return to active politics. All things being equal, we are expecting him back in the country in a couple of days.