Senators Abdullahi Adamu and Iyiola Omisore left their positions yesterday as national chairman and national secretary of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) following complaints about lack of accountability and non-inclusive leadership, it was learnt.
They were also accused of personalising their positions and sidelining critical organs, particularly the National Working Committee (NWC) and National Executive Committee (NEC).
Besides, Adamu and Omisore, according to sources, lost out in the power game because of an indictment in the party’s audit report.
The sources said the chairman had become a source of division in the NEC and NWC.
Adamu and Omisore came into office in March last year.
APC National Vice Chairman (Northwest), Salihu Lukman, has consistently accused Adamu of violating the constitution of the party.
The infractions listed by him included the refusal to tender financial accounts, lack of budget for NEC approval, absence of women, youths and persons with disability wing; refusal to set up committees on establishment, finance, inter-governmental, conflict and reconciliation, and refusal to review the last general election.
Adamu was alleged to have acted at “variance with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, APC governors and members of the National Working Committee.”
Also, the audit report on their tenure was “untidy and suspicious,” the source said.
But ahead of horse-trading in the post-Adamu era, former Nasarawa State Governor Umar Tanko Almakura may become the next National Chairman, with National Vice Chairman (Southwest), Mr. Isaacs Kekemeke as National Secretary.
Contrary to speculations of a concession to the Southeast, Southwest was still pushing to retain the post of National Secretary.
It was learnt that APC leaders have decided to consider those grounded in party politics to lead it.
While Al-Makura has been a party leader since 1979 when he was the youth leader of the defunct National Party of Nigeria (NPN), Kekemeke was a grassroots party coordinator and a former chairman of APC in Ondo State.
Sources said although President Tinubu wanted Adamu to be left in his position, many NWC and NEC members disagreed, insisting that the former chairman was “working at cross-purposes with” the President and other party leaders.
It was gathered that he was advised to resign by some of the leaders of the party.
The allegations against Adamu were unacceptability of Tinubu’s leadership, alleged contempt for the President, and open dissenting views with the President and APC stakeholders.
A source said: “Sen. Adamu was never on the same page with President Tinubu. Apart from his often repeated remarks that Tinubu was not his preferred candidate for the presidency, there were some campaigns he didn’t participate in.
“Adamu’s leadership is seen as bellicose. An example of this is when he publicly disowned the list of principal officers of the National Assembly as announced by the presiding officers who consulted him.
“Adamu described the announcement of the list as a mere rumour, casting a slur on the process. He failed to upturn what the leadership of the lawmakers did.
“There have been unguarded statements by Adamu. Without any medical report, he declared an ailing Ondo State Governor Rotimi Akeredolu as incapacitated, which embarrassed many party leaders, members and others.”
Another source said Adamu was also in a cold war with some APC governors and members of the National Working Committee (NWC).
The source added: “Adamu’s conduct and utterances were at variance with President Tinubu, APC governors and members of the National Working Committee.
“He has been presiding over a divided NWC because he took advantage of his age and past party and executive positions to ride roughshod members. He adopted an authoritarian style.
“No NWC member can offer alternative views and he didn’t accord them their rights and privileges as equals in a working committee.
“When the tension was high, Adamu and NWC members reached a truce on May 3rd with a pledge to allow all the structures to function optimally.
“But by May 10th, the agreement was deadlocked. Since then, there has been no peace in the NWC.
“All NWC members were not in sync with Adamu and it was not surprising that they ganged up against him.”
The audit report on the finances of APC led to pressure on Adamu and Omisore to quit.
A member of the NWC said: “The financial outlook of APC is untidy. NWC members were not pleased with it.
“There are so many queries to be answered by the party’s leadership. And no leader, including President Tinubu, can gloss over the discrepancies in APC’s account.”
Asked why Omisore’s fate was tied to Adamu’s, the source added: “These leaders acted like Siamese twins on all issues, including the financial management of the party.”
The horse-trading for the offices of the national chairman and the national secretary has started.
It was learnt that some governors, ex-governors and party leaders were already closing in on Al-Makura as the next national chairman and Kekemeke as secretary.
A former governor said: “APC governors and party leaders have been meeting on who should lead the party. The permutations so far have been in favour of the national chairman returning to Nasarawa State with ex-Governor Al-Makura highly favoured. We need to demonstrate that we have nothing against the people of Nasarawa.
“Some of our leaders have been pushing for the retention of the slot in the Southwest with Kekemeke as a favourite.”
