A leadership crisis briefly rocked the Progressive Governors Forum on Friday as governors elected on the platform of the ruling All Progressives Congress moved swiftly to reaffirm support for Imo State Governor, Hope Uzodimma, following reports of an alleged attempt to remove him as chairman of the forum.
The controversy, which triggered intense political speculation within the ruling party, was eventually contained after 18 APC governors passed a vote of confidence in Uzodimma and dismissed reports suggesting that he had been replaced.
The crisis began late Thursday following reports that some members of the forum held a closed-door meeting at the Ogun State Governor’s Lodge in Abuja where discussions allegedly centred on changing the leadership of the forum.
Sources familiar with the development claimed that about 20 governors attended the meeting, with Enugu State Governor, Peter Mbah, initially being tipped as a possible replacement for Uzodimma.
The development came only hours after Uzodimma had represented APC governors during the presentation of President Bola Tinubu’s presidential nomination and expression of interest forms in Abuja ahead of the 2027 election cycle.
However, the Director-General of the Progressive Governors Forum, Folorunsho Aluko, quickly denied reports of any leadership change, insisting that no official meeting of the forum had approved Uzodimma’s removal.
In a statement issued Friday morning, Aluko said the forum’s secretariat had no record of any resolution removing the Imo governor as chairman.
“His Excellency, Senator Hope Uzodimma, remains the chairman of the Progressive Governors Forum,” he stated, adding that the forum remained united and focused on supporting the administration of President Bola Tinubu.
Amid mounting tensions, Uzodimma convened an emergency meeting of APC governors at the Imo State Governor’s Lodge in Abuja on Friday afternoon.
At the end of the closed-door session, governors in attendance publicly reaffirmed their support for Uzodimma and his deputy in the forum, Kaduna State Governor, Uba Sani.
Sources within the party disclosed that the Presidency intervened to calm the situation and encouraged governors to maintain the existing leadership structure in order to avoid deepening internal divisions within the ruling party ahead of 2027.
Governors present at the meeting included those of Ondo, Kaduna, Sokoto, Ebonyi, Borno, Lagos, Kogi, Kano, Yobe, Kebbi, Benue and Jigawa states, while Nasarawa State was represented by its deputy governor.
Kebbi State Governor, Nasir Idris, moved the motion for a vote of confidence in Uzodimma, insisting there was no crisis warranting leadership changes within the forum.
“We don’t have any problem to justify what they have said. So, I want to seize this opportunity to move a vote of confidence in our chairman and his deputy,” Idris said.
Speaking after the meeting, Uba Sani described reports of division within the forum as unfortunate and misleading.
“What I can say here is that all of us woke up to that very unfortunate story, which was virtually in all the media in Nigeria. But the truth of the matter is that the APC Progressive Governors’ Forum is very united,” he said.
“We are stronger now than at any other time. The governors are united, the forum is united, and there is no problem at all.”
Uzodimma also sought to downplay the controversy, saying APC governors remained committed to supporting President Tinubu’s administration and ensuring the party’s victory in the 2027 elections.
According to him, the governors resolved to focus on governance, performance and social interventions aimed at improving the welfare of Nigerians.
Political observers say the incident reflects growing undercurrents within the ruling party as early alignments and power calculations ahead of the 2027 elections continue to gather momentum.
