EXTRA: I’ll clean tables if Tinubu desires, says Tanko Al-Makura on APC chairmanship position

Tanko Al-Makura, a former governor of Nasarawa State and chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), says he is willing to serve in any capacity if President Bola Tinubu deems it necessary for the good of the party and country.

Al-Makura spoke in an interview with Trust TV while responding to a question on whether he would accept the position of APC national chairman if offered by the president.

During the interview, the former Nasarawa state governor was asked if he will accept the position of APC national chairman if Tinubu calls him to do so.

Al-Makura said he is an “incurable and committed” party member who is ready to do the president’s bidding.

“If Mr President, as the leader of this country, tells me that ‘Al-Makura, I want you to come to my office and dust my table every Monday, that is what pleases me, that is what I feel will make the party and this country progress’,” he said.

“I can assure you that I will make it a date that every Monday at that appointed time. I will come, dust the table, and go.

“I will be satisfied that I have done what the president wants. That is the level of my commitment and loyalty to a leader.”

The former governor’s comment comes amid growing speculation over his potential emergence as the next substantive national chairman of the APC.

Following the resignation of Abdullahi Ganduje, who stepped down as national chairman in June, the party’s leadership has remained in a transitional phase with Bukar Dalori currently serving in acting capacity.

Al-Makura, who governed Nasarawa from 2011 to 2019 and later represented Nasarawa south in the senate, is widely viewed as a stabilising figure within the party, especially in the north-central region.

He noted during the interview that he had previously withdrawn his bid for the APC chairmanship in 2022 out of respect for the party’s decision to adopt a consensus arrangement at the time.