President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has reportedly tipped Abdullahi Ganduje, National Chairman of the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, for ambassadorial appointment in “any African country”.
Recall that Ganduje was appointed as the national chairman of the ruling party on August 3, 2023, following the forced resignation of Abdullahi Adamu.
According to a news eport, the President first delegated Godswill Akpabio, the President of the Senate to break the “bad news” to Ganduje.
The report explained that the ambassadorial offer was aimed at saving him from the ongoing corruption trial he is currently facing in Kano.
Recall that the Kano ex-Governor, whose 2018 bribe videos caused him public opprobrium and ridicule, is facing corruption charges alongside his wife, son and other accomplices to the tune of over N50 billion.
It said Ganduje grumbled and tacitly rejected the president’s offer, explaining that the charges were “tissues of lies” and would win his cases in court.
“Is this the way the president will reward my loyalty? Besides, I am too old to go for an ambassadorial posting. All the charges are tissues of lies, and I will win my case in court,” Ganduje was quoted as replying to Akpabio.
It went further to report that Tinubu later personally informed Ganduje of the diplomatic posting plan and offered him to choose “any country in Africa”.
But other sources said the president offered him three choices in Africa, Asia and Europe.
A source close to the APC chairman said the president’s preference was to post him as Nigerian ambassador to Chad, having served in N’djamena as the executive secretary of the Lake Chad Basin Commission between 2009 and 2011.
“However, Ganduje is lobbying hard to retain his seat, going from pillar to post and complaining bitterly to Chief Bisi Akande about the president’s decision to ‘retire’ him from politics. But if the worse comes to worst, Ganduje will choose Morocco over Chad,” the report said, citing an inside source.
In a related development, Ganduje is said to have been notified of the President’s approval to conduct the National Executive Committee, NEC meeting and mid-term non-elective national convention.
Ganduje’s spokesman, Edwin Olofu, said he was not briefed about the ambassadorial posting by his principal.
He, however, confirmed the president’s approval to hold the party’s NEC meeting and non-elective convention.
“I’m not aware of this, my boss hasn’t briefed me.
“But I’m aware that the party wrote to the Mr President requesting a date to hold the NEC meeting, and correspondence has been received from the Presidency that 12 September 2024 is approved for the NEC meeting, while the non-elective convention has equally been approved towards the end of the year,” Olofu said.