Some APC members in the north-central zone of the country have adopted Saliu Mustapha, former deputy national chairman of the defunct Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), as their candidate for the position of national chairman.

The APC members decided to back him after a meeting on Sunday in Ilorin, capital city of Kwara state.

The meeting was held on the platform of North-Central APC Central Advisory Council.

The ruling party will pick its national working committee (NWC) on February 26 — the day it will hold its elective convention.

Speaking with journalists after the meeting, Christopher Ameh, former ambassador who leads the council, said only Mustapha has what it takes to challenge other aspirants seeking to clinch the position.

On his part, Ahmed Goringo, a one-time governorship aspirant in Nasarawa on the platform of the CPC, said Mustapha has the capacity to lead the party well.

“Any one in doubt of Saliu Mustapha’s loyalty to any cause he believes in is free to take a look at his antecedent,” he said.

“Here is a man that has been with President Buhari through thick and thin right from the days of The Buhari Organisation (TBO).

“We were together in the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) and like he did back then, we see him as the most likely to inspire confidence in a larger majority of APC members as a result of his good relations with all strata of the party.”

The ex-CPC chieftain will be up against the likes of Ali Modu Sheriff, former governor of Borno, and Sani Musa, a serving senator from Niger, among others.