APC crisis: Tinubu considers Adamu’s replacement

AFTER Senator Abdullahi Adamu resigned as National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, APC, yesterday, signs surfaced that President Bola Tinubu is “actively shopping” for his replacement. According to reliable sources, some of the president’s men were believed to be hunting for a suitable replacement for Adamu immediately after Tinubu was elected in February of this year.

While Tinubu was said to have soft-pedaled shortly after being sworn in, preferring to take his time before attempting to oust Adamu, some party chieftains were said to have pressed former Osun State governor and Interim National Chairman of the party, Chief Bisi Akande, to secure the president’s approval to remove Adamu immediately.

The development happened on the same day that all of the ruling party’s financial accounts were blocked, just days before the struggling chairman was given the door. Following Adamu’s departure, some party insiders stated that the president already has a replacement in mind but is engaging with various stakeholders to ensure that his pick is acceptable to everybody.

Senator Abubakar Kyari, the party’s acting national chairman, told media following the National Working Committee, NWC at the meeting said the APC constitution foresaw a circumstance like this and had established provisions for filling all vacancies. He stated that all vacancies in the NWC, including Adamu’s now-vacant position, will be filled soon.

“There are procedures for filling the vacancies,” Kyari added, “and I think the procedures, we will kick start that very soon.” Kyari, who formally verified Adamu’s resignation, also announced Senator Iyiola Omisore’s departure as National Secretary. He also stated that sessions of the National Caucus and the National Executive Committee NEC, which were previously scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday, had been rescheduled.

Earlier, the party’s Deputy National Organizing Secretary, Nze Chidi Duru, confirmed Adamu’s resignation and stated that the NWC expected Omisore to quit with Adamu. Omisore was reportedly banned from joining the NWC meeting presided over by Kyari, despite the fact that his parking lot had been taken over by his deputy. Omisore, who left the secretariat the moment he walked in, said he was going to meet Adamu, adding that he did not know why the former Nasarawa Governor was not at the secretariat.

Following these resignations, Duru stated that the APC, as a respectable political party, will be unaffected by current events.  The list of misdeeds against Adamu is extensive, but his issue began with his birth. Adamu, who was never a candidate for the party’s National Chairmanship, was imposed on the APC in March 2022 by former President Muhammadu Buhari.