Ganduje Quits in Protest as Tinubu Courts Kwankwaso – Kano Feud Rocks APC Leadership

By RYNI Media | Omotayo Stephen O.

29 June 2025

The All Progressives Congress was thrown into disarray on Friday as its National Chairman, Dr. Abdullahi Ganduje, abruptly resigned amid high-level manoeuvrings to bring his long-time political rival, Rabiu Kwankwaso, into the party fold.

PUNCH gathered that the sudden resignation was not primarily for health reasons, as claimed officially, but stemmed from deep-seated opposition to the reported reconciliation moves between President Bola Tinubu and the former Kano governor, Kwankwaso.

Multiple sources at the APC national secretariat disclosed that tensions had been brewing since early Friday afternoon, as word spread that Tinubu had struck an agreement to welcome Kwankwaso back into the ruling party — a move that reportedly sent Ganduje into a fit of fury.

“He didn’t see it coming,” a senior party official confided. “From the moment he heard of the deal, his mind was made up. By 3pm, we were already trying to talk him out of stepping down. But the bitterness runs deep.”

Ganduje, who ascended to the national chairmanship in August 2023, has a long and complicated history with Kwankwaso. Once political allies in the PDP — with Ganduje serving as Kwankwaso’s deputy during his 2011–2015 tenure as Kano governor — their relationship fractured irreparably when Ganduje succeeded him under the APC banner.

Their falling-out triggered one of Nigeria’s most acrimonious political rivalries. The battle for control of Kano’s political machinery has been relentless, culminating in Ganduje’s controversial deposition of Emir Muhammadu Sanusi II — an appointee and staunch ally of Kwankwaso. In a twist of fate, Emir Sanusi was reinstated May 23, 2024 by the Kwankwaso-backed NNPP-led Kano government, Governor Abba Yusuf , a move widely seen as a direct humiliation of Ganduje.

According to PUNCH findings, President Tinubu’s efforts to expand APC’s northern stronghold ahead of 2027 elections may have prompted overtures to Kwankwaso, viewed as a major grassroots mobilizer. However, that olive branch seems to have come at the cost of party unity.

By 4:15pm, confirmation of Ganduje’s resignation had spread across the secretariat. Attempts by key officers, including National Secretary Ajibola Basiru, to placate him had failed.

“There’s no crisis here per se,” said one staff member. “But the chairman has resigned and everyone is still in shock. This was not expected.”

As the APC braces for aftershocks, the question remains: Can a party torn between ambition and old grudges hold together long enough to chart its path forward? With Ganduje gone and Kwankwaso knocking, the storm in Kano has officially reached the national stage.

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