By Seyi Babalola
Senator Abdullahi Ganduje, the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), has stated that the party’s leadership would release a plan to grow the party’s membership.
Following a private meeting with Simon Lalong, the recently-departed governor of Plateau State, Ganduje revealed this on Wednesday.
He further clarified that Nyesom Wike, the recently-departed governor of Rivers State, had not paid him a visit at his Abuja home in connection with reports that he had defected to the governing party.
The chairman, however, admitted that the defection of a politician like Wike to the ruling party would improve the chances of the party in 2027.
According to him, “It will certainly improve the chances of our party, especially in 2027.
Ganduje stated: “You know Wike is an honourable minister-designate, so he came, we discussed it because I was looking for him to congratulate him for that and also he came to congratulate me and we discussed that when he becomes minister fully, he will work very hard in order to move the ministry he is giving and he is ready to cooperate.
“But we didn’t discuss the issue of his coming to APC or not coming to APC. That issue will arise later.
“And not only that we are coming out with a new blueprint to increase the followership of the party and this includes all strata of officials; those who are in APC and those who are in other political parties.
“I assure you, very soon some of the political parties will even merge with the APC. We are doing that underground.”
Earlier, Lalong said he was at the party’s secretariat to congratulate Ganduje and see how to support him in running the party.
He said, “As the national chairman, Ganduje was governor, as a matter of fact, when we look at his antecedents, we always say he is the longest experienced politician that we have within us. Because he is somebody who was very long in the civil service, he became permanent secretary, commissioner, longest serving deputy governor and became governor. So with this kind of experience, what else do you need in party matters.”
