A power struggle appears to be brewing within the All Progressives Congress (APC) Governors’ Forum after conflicting reports emerged over the alleged removal of Imo State Governor, Hope Uzodimma, as chairman of the body.
On one side, 18 APC governors have reportedly backed Uzodimma, passing a vote of confidence in him and dismissing claims that he had been replaced. On the other, there were earlier reports suggesting that Enugu State Governor, Peter Mbah, had been picked as his successor following a late-night meeting in Abuja.
The confusion reportedly started on Thursday night when a group of governors met at the Ogun State Governor’s Lodge in Abuja and allegedly announced Mbah as the new chairman of the Progressive Governors Forum (PGF).
Some insiders described the move as an attempted leadership change within the forum.
Sources said about 20 APC governors attended that closed-door meeting, including governors from Ogun, Bayelsa, and Enugu states.
The development came just hours after Uzodimma had represented APC governors at the formal submission of President Bola Tinubu’s nomination forms in Abuja.
By Friday morning, the PGF leadership moved quickly to shut down the reports. The Director General of the forum, Folorunso Aluko, insisted no such decision was ever taken.
He said there was no record of any meeting that removed Uzodimma, adding that the governor “remains the chairman of the Progressive Governors Forum” and that the group is still united and focused.
As the controversy spread, Uzodimma convened an emergency meeting of APC governors at the Imo State Lodge in Abuja. Eighteen governors attended the session, which ended with a public reaffirmation of support for his leadership.
Kebbi State Governor, Nasir Idris, moved the motion for a vote of confidence in Uzodimma and his deputy, Kaduna State Governor Uba Sani, stressing that there was no division within the forum.
Other governors present also pushed back against the earlier reports, describing them as misleading and unnecessary distractions. Uba Sani later told journalists that the forum remained solidly behind President Bola Tinubu and fully united going into the 2027 political cycle.
Uzodimma, in his remarks, tried to calm tensions, saying the governors were focused on governance and on strengthening support for the President ahead of the next general election.
Despite the public show of unity, the events of the past 24 hours have exposed visible cracks within the forum, with sources suggesting that behind-the-scenes negotiations and interventions may have helped preserve the status quo at least for now.
