The Progressive Governors Forum has held an emergency meeting at the Imo State Governors’ Lodge in Asokoro, Abuja, with 18 governors elected on the platform of the All Progressives Congress rallying behind Chairman and Imo State Governor Hope Uzodimma and passing a vote of confidence in his leadership, in a dramatic response to overnight reports claiming the forum had split into two factions, with one report alleging that Ogun State Governor Dapo Abiodun and Kwara State Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq had taken charge of a rival group while another claimed that Enugu State Governor Peter Mbah had emerged as the forum’s new leader ahead of the 2027 general elections.
The emergency meeting, convened on Friday under Uzodimma’s leadership, produced a unified public front, with Kebbi State Governor Nasir Idris moving a vote of confidence in Uzodimma and his deputy Uba Sani, and the governors collectively describing the reports of disunity as “misinformation” and insisting the forum is “stronger now than at any other time.”
However, the very necessity of convening an emergency meeting to deny a split, passing a vote of confidence to reaffirm a chairmanship that was not formally challenged, and assembling 18 governors at short notice to project unity suggests that whatever prompted the overnight reports was significant enough to require an immediate and emphatic response from the forum’s leadership.
The crisis was triggered by reports that emerged on Thursday night alleging a leadership change within the Progressive Governors Forum.
One report claimed that Enugu State Governor Peter Mbah had emerged as the new leader of the forum ahead of the 2027 general elections, suggesting a replacement of Uzodimma’s chairmanship.
Another report, attributed to political commentator Theo Abu, claimed the “PGF splits as Chairman Hope Uzodimma insists he remains in charge with his deputy Uba Sani while Ogun Governor Dapo Abiodun and Kwara Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq take charge of other group.”
The reports, taken together, painted a picture of a governing party whose state-level leaders were fracturing into competing camps ahead of the 2027 elections, with the implications extending beyond the PGF itself to the APC’s electoral machinery, which depends heavily on governors to deliver votes in their respective states.
In response, governors elected on the APC platform converged on the Imo State Lodge in Asokoro on Friday for an emergency session convened under Uzodimma’s leadership.
The attendance list underscored the seriousness with which the forum treated the reports. Among those physically present were Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa of Ondo State, Governor Uba Sani of Kaduna State, Governor Agbu Kefas of Taraba State, Governor Ahmad Aliyu of Sokoto State, Governor Babagana Zulum of Borno State, Governor Francis Nwifuru of Ebonyi State, Governor Abba Yusuf of Kano State, Governor Mai Mala Buni of Yobe State, Governor Hyacinth Alia of Benue State, and Governor Nasir Idris of Kebbi State, among others.
In total, 18 governors were physically present or represented at the meeting, including those of Lagos, Kaduna, Borno, Ebonyi, Kogi, Kano, Taraba, Yobe, Sokoto, Kebbi, Benue, Jigawa, Ondo, and Nasarawa states.
The notably absent names were not formally addressed, though the reports had specifically named Ogun State Governor Dapo Abiodun and Kwara State Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq as leaders of the alleged rival faction. Whether either governor attended the emergency meeting or was represented was not confirmed in the official account of the proceedings.
Kebbi State Governor Nasir Idris moved a motion for a vote of confidence in the forum’s leadership, categorically denying any crisis.
“We don’t have any problem to justify what the media have said. I want to seek this opportunity to move a vote of confidence on our chairman and his deputy,” Idris stated.
“Governor Hope Uzodimma and Governor Uba Sani of Kaduna remain the chairman and deputy chairman of the forum respectively,” Idris declared.
The vote of confidence was adopted by the assembled governors, formally reaffirming the existing leadership structure.
Uba Sani, the Deputy Chairman of the forum and Governor of Kaduna State, whose declaration earlier in the week that Kaduna has become “a one-party state” with “no apology” had itself generated controversy, dismissed reports of division.
“The truth of the matter is that the APC Progressive Governors Forum is very united. We’re stronger now than at any other time,” Sani stated.
“We want to assure everyone that the governors are united, the forum is united, and there is no problem at all,” the Kaduna governor added.
He stated that “the governors remained focused on supporting the administration and ensuring the success of its policies.”
Responding to the vote of confidence, Uzodimma described the reports of disunity as “a distraction” and reaffirmed the forum’s commitment to governance and the party’s electoral plans.