From Tom Garba, Yola
The Adamawa State chapter of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) is in crisis ahead of its state congresses scheduled for April, amid allegations of internal divisions involving high-profile figures in the state chapter of the party.
Sources within the party claim that the former Vice President Atiku Abubakar allegedly bypassed the National Vice Chairman (North East), Babachir Lawal, a former Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) to submit a rival Congress Committee list for the upcoming state, local government and ward congresses directly to the national leadership under Senator David Mark.
A reliable anonymous source told Tgnews: “I pity my party; we’re heading for a disaster; a time bomb which will soon explode in the state. How can the office of the national Vice chairman be sidelined in this critical time when the party is just recovering from conflicts of leadership in the state?
It will be recalled that a memo from the National Secretary to all National Vice Chairmen directed them to compile and submit the State Congress Committee list for all the States in their Zone. A source from the group loyal to the former SGF therefore wonders where the former Vice President and only one of several Presidential Aspirants in the party got his authority to compile and submit such a list outside the directives of the National Secretary of the party without even a simple courtesy of consulting with the National Vice Chairman of the North East Zone, Engr Babachir David Lawal.
Another source echoed the concern, stating that the Vice Chairman (North East) was neither contacted nor consulted by Atiku’s camp before the submission of a list, describing the move as “outrightly wrong and disrespectfully of the former SGF” insisting that due process must be followed in line with the party’s constitution and zonal protocols. The source also remarked that this is a typical antic of Alhaji Atiku Abubakar which has contributed to the collapse of the PDP.
Tgnews understands that the SGF’s loyalists have commenced urgent discussions with the SDP with a view to mass migration of ADC members in the state to SDP. It is feared that Mr Babachir Lawal’s defection from the ADC at this critical time will have a devastating effect on the ADC not only in Adamawa State but in the nation as a whole. Mr Babachir Lawal has a massive following especially among the Christians and Ethnic Nationalities of the north who regard him as their foremost political champion.
The congresses, set for April, is expected to address party restructuring, leadership confirmations, and strategies for upcoming political engagements. Stakeholders have called for urgent dialogue to avert further fragmentation in the North East zonal structure.
This situation highlights the fragile unity within opposition parties as they position for future electoral contests. Further developments are awaited as the congresses approach.
Neither Atiku Abubakar’s camp nor Babachir Lawal has publicly commented on the specific allegations of rival lists at the time of this report; neither has the National Secretariat of the party.
