As Adamu, Omisore Exit APC’s National Working Committee…

The exit of both the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, Senator Abdulahi Adamu and National Secretary, Senator Iyiola Omisore, from the National Working Committee of the party was only a matter of time but many never thought it would come so soon. Adedayo Akinwale reports.

The crisis rocking the  National Working Committee (NWC) of the All Progressives Congress (APC) reached a crescendo Monday with the eventual resignation from office of the former  National Chairman of the party, Senator Abdulahi Adamu and the Secretary, Senator Iyiola Omisore.

Before the duo took the exit door, the ruling party had fixed the National caucus and National Executive Committee (NEC) meetings of the party to hold on July 18 and 19 respectively.

However, the recent development forced the leadership of the party to postpone indefinitely the National caucus and NEC meeting, with the promise to announce a new date in the future.

Addressing newsmen at the end of the NWC meeting held at the party’s secretariat in Abuja on Monday, the Deputy National Chairman, North, Senator Abubakar Kyari announced that both Adamu and Omisore have resigned their positions.

Other NWC members in attendance at the meeting were:  Deputy National Chairman (South),  Emma Eneukwu; National Vice Chairman (North-West), Salihu Lukman; National Organising Secretary, Suleiman Arugungu, Deputy National Organising Secretary, Nze Duru; National Vice Chairman (North-East), Salihu Mustapha; National Vice Chairman (North Central), Muazu Bawa; National Vice Chairman (South-West), Issacs Kekemeke; National Vice Chairman (South-East), Ejoroma Arodiogu and the Deputy National Secretary, Festus Fuanter.

Kyari stated: “The NWC wishes to inform you of the resignation of the National Chairman, Senator Abdullahi Adamu and that of the National Secretary, Senator Iyiola Omisore.

“And with  this development and according to the constitution of the All Progressive Congress (APC), it is now incumbent on my humble self Senator Abubakar Kyari as a Deputy National Chairman, North to assume the office of the acting National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

“And subsequently also, the Deputy National Secretary,  Festus Fuantar will now assume the office of the acting National Secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC).”

Adamu was appointed as the national chairman of the party in March 2022 after he was anointed for the position by former President Muhammadu Buhari.

Nevertheless, the frosty relationship between Adamu and President Bola Tinubu did not start last week. The cat and mouse relationship started when all the presidential aspirants of the party were criss-crossing the nation, canvassing for votes ahead of the presidential primary of the party.

When Tinubu sensed that there was a fierce opposition against him, he came down hard on the powers perceived to be against his ambition.

“If not for me that stood behind Buhari, he wouldn’t have become the President. He tried the first time, he failed. The second time, he failed. The third, he failed. He even wept on national television and vowed never to contest again. But I went to meet him in Kaduna and told him he will run again, I will stand by you and you will win, but you must not joke with Yorubas and he agreed”, he had said in Abeokuta, Ogun State capital while campaigning to secure APC presidential ticker.

But, Adamu, the then chairman of the party did not take Tinubu’s utterances lightly. He summoned an emergency press conference  at the party’s national secretariat, where he described his action as unbecoming and insulting.

His words: “His utterances are very very insulting. It’s very very unbecoming for a person of that standing to do what he did to the sitting president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, the President produced by the votes of the APC. Yesterday we saw some part of a retraction but that effort is not adequate. It is not sincere. It doesn’t wipe out the impression that that event has left in our minds”.

Also, two days before the presidential primary of the ruling party in 2022, Adamu  announced the former Senate President, Ahmad Lawan as the consensus presidential candidate of the party.

Addressing newsmen after Adamu made the announcement, APC National Organising Secretary, Sulaiman Argungu, confirmed the development.

According to him, Adamu announced the consensus decision during the meeting of the party’s national working committee (NWC), held  in Abuja. Argungu, however, maintained that the APC national chairman’s position is not that of the NWC.

It took the firm decision of the NWC members and the APC governors who stood their ground by insisting that all the presidential aspirants must be allowed to go to the field before they were able to quash Adamu’s coup.

Following the triumph of Tinubu at the February 25, 2023 presidential poll, both Adamu and the president have been trying to manage their frosty relationship.

N’Assembly’s Principal Officers: The last straw

During the election of presiding officers of the 10th National Assembly in June, 2023,  THISDAY investigation revealed that Adamu had expressed strong reservations about President Tinubu’s imposition of Godswill Akpabio, Jibrin Barau and Abbas Kalu as anointed candidates for both chambers.

A member of the APC NWC who preferred anonymity said the Presidency felt embarrassed by Adamu’s denunciation of the list of principal officers when he was actually privy to it.

Recall that Adamu had told the APC Governors at a meeting that his leadership was not aware of the list read on the floors of both chambers.

“You will get an update on the national election in the national assembly’s sharing of powers particularly in the leadership of the chambers. The election of the principal officers of the Senate by the Senate President and Deputy Senate President. The election of the speaker and the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives have been determined and announced and their responsibilities.

“The remaining offices which will be determined by the two chambers is yet to be done. I had a courtesy call on Saturday from the President of the Senate and his Deputy.

“The following day, which was Sunday, | received the visit by the Speaker and the Deputy Speaker coming to me for Sallah’s homage.

“But, I am just hearing as a rumour now from the online media that there has been some announcements in the Senate and House of Representatives. The national headquarters of the party or the NWC has not given any such information or communicated about the choice of offices.

“And until we formally resolve and communicate with them in writing which is the norm and practice, it is not our intention to break away from traditions. So whatever announcement is done either by the President of the Senate, Deputy Senate President, Speaker or Deputy Speaker, is not from this Secretariat,” he had said

Apart from the frosty relationship between Adamu and President Tinubu, the former Nasarawa state governor’s leadership style and his refusal to carry members of the NWC along had been a major concern among the party leadership.

Interestingly, it wasn’t long before members of the NWC resumed hostilities. The APC National Vice Chairman (North-West), Dr. Salihu Lukman, was the first to bell the cat in April, 2023 when he accused Adamu and Omisore of turning other members of the NWC  to rubber stamp.

He accused the duo of taking decisions bordering on managing the finances of the party without the knowledge of other NWC members.

Lukman in a statement wondered why the National Advisory Council (NAC) of the party had not been inaugurated more than a year after the Adamu-led NWC assumed office.

He said the constitution of the party under Article 13.2B.(i) stipulates that, “the National Secretary shall, not later than one month after an elective convention, convene the meeting of the National Advisory Council”; but added that one year after assuming office, Omisore has never proposed any action towards the inauguration of NAC.

Also, Lukman during a recent interview accused Omisore of mismanaging Osun State governorship election campaign funds.

According to him: “Part of the issue with that is that I’m aware the party has given some campaign funds to Osun which was handled by the National Secretary and to some extent, he has either mismanaged it but more importantly, he’s not been accounting to anybody and you have to activate the process of accountability”.

The allegation did not go down well with Omisore who threatened to sue Lukman.

The party’s scribe in a letter by his attorney dated March 15, 2023 demanded for a retraction, apology, and payment of N500 million damages for the libelous statement against his person.

But Lukman who had already don his comradeship toga said Omisore cannot bully him into silence, insisting that he must render account of the money provided for the prosecution of the Osun governorship election.

The Kaduna-born politician ensured that he did not give both Adamu and Omisore any respite as he also put pen to paper on April 5, 2023, where he gave one week notice to Adamu to convene NEC meeting.

Following the expiration of the one-week ultimatum, Lukman dragged the Adamu-led NWC  before an Abuja High Court over his refusal to convene NEC and National caucus meeting of the party.

Against this background, on May 3rd, Adamu  summoned an emergency meeting of the NWC following a lawsuit instituted by Lukman.

The crisis, however, got messier when the National Legal Adviser, Ahmad  El- Marzuq, recommended the expulsion of Lukman, in his letter to Adamu.

In calling for Lukman’s expulsion, El-Marzuq said the party should rely on  Article 21.5 (v) which states thus: “Any member who files an action in court of law against the party or any of its officers on any matter or matters relating to the discharge of duties of the party without first exhausting the avenues for redress provided for in this Constitution shall automatically stand expelled from the party on filing such action and no appeal against expulsion as stipulated in this clause shall be entertained until the withdrawal of the action from court by the member’.”

Reacting to the expulsion threat, Lukman in a letter by his lawyers, Legal Resource Consortium (LRC), said the NWC of the party lacks the power to suspend him.

Consequently, at the end of the emergency meeting of the NWC in May, the leadership of the party was able to reach a truce.

While Lukman was prevailed upon to withdraw the suit against Adamu, the meeting also agreed that all the issues raised by Lukman would be addressed.

After few weeks of cease fire, Lukman fired another salvo where he described Adamu as a reckless conservative and reactionary politician, who, if left unchecked, will lead APC to committing political suicide.

He said all party leaders and members must wake up to this reality and stop Adamu from achieving his mission of self destroying the APC.

Lukman, in an open letter to APC leaders noted that Omisore lacks capacity to win election in Osun State and yet pretends to command political influence.

For those keeping tabs on the crisis rocking the ruling party, it was an open secret that both Adamu and Omisore will have to give way. It was only a matter of when. Now that Adamu is out of the way, what next for the ruling party?