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From Romanus Ugwu, Abuja
The intractable strangulating leadership crisis in the All Progressives Congress (APC) reached the crescendo on Sunday night when the party’s National Chairman, Abdullahi Adamu, caved in to the immense pressure mounted on him and reluctantly handed in his resignation letter to avert unforseen shame lined up on his path.
Less than 24 hours later, the hitherto stormy crisis completely subsided when the National Secretary, Iyiola Omisore, also resigned, resulting in the party’s National Working Committee (NWC) endorsing the duo of Abubakar Kyari, hitherto Deputy National Chairman (North) and Festus Fuanter, Deputy National Secretary, to step in on acting capacities as National Chairman and Secretary, respectively.
Kyari, who confirmed Adamu’s resignation after a crucial marathon NWC meeting, also announced the cancellation and indefinite postponement of the proposed National Caucus and National Executive Committee (NEC) earlier scheduled for the week.
“The NWC wishes to inform you about the resignation of the National Chairman and that of the National Secretary. With this development and according to the constitution of the APC, it is now incumbent on my humble self, Kyari, to assume the office of the acting National Chairman. Subsequently, Festus Fuanter will now assume the office of the acting National Secretary.
“With this recent development in the change of leadership, I will like to inform everybody that the proposed Caucus and NEC meeting are hereby postponed,” Kyari announced to bring Adamu’s tempestuous short reign to an abrupt end.
Since Adamu emerged APC chairman, the former governor of Nasarawa State had fought a suffocating imaginary and real battle with almost every major stakeholder before the crisis finally consumed him in a disgraceful manner.
After the continuous struggle to consolidate hold on his position, Adamu finally lost the epic battle against his NWC colleagues, the presidency, party leaders, chieftains and other stakeholders he had engaged in fierce battle .
His exit as APC boss will definitely not be a surprise to many. He was like a tree or house marked for demolition for several months, but decided to fight for survival to the last minute.
His resignation was in sync with the long history of APC as a ruling party with the penchant for sacrificing its chairmen before the constitutional expiration of their tenures.
From John Odigie-Oyegun shoved aside when he sort for second tenure in 2018, to Comrade Adams Oshiomhole disgraced out of office two years into his four-year tenure, the Governor Mai Mala Buni-led Caretaker Committee that strategically wanted to perpetuate itself in office and now Adamu, forcefully retired just one year into his four-year tenure, APC has kept deleterious record as a party using its national chairmen as sacrificial lamb.
Adamu’s long expected exit was a threatening, but avoidable long drawn battle, but he opted to become victim of who the gods wanted to kill, but first made to become mad. Adamu, who came through the backdoor into the party, left unceremoniously through the backdoor last week.
For some pundits, the man who rode on the crest of power through abuse of presidential powers that anointed him was consumed through the same undemocratic process.
He was a product of imposition by the immediate past presidency and a man who latched on the opportunity as chairman of APC National Reconciliation Committee to gain power, but abused the trust given to him and failed to strike a balance in managing contending forces. Little wonder his resignation did not attract any pity as he ended up being consumed by the forces that brought him to power.
Beyond the reasons for his rejection, Adamu went down in history as a man who could not swim against the tide and dug a deep grave that consumed him. From inception, he had continuously walked carelessly on the landmines perfectly laid for him without making any deliberate attempt to detonate the dangerous weapon.
From the secretariat staff, former directors, party leaders, fellow NWC members, party chieftains and untouchable party oracles – governors’ forum, he did not spare anyone in applying the disciplinary cane to not only whip into line, but also battle them to submission.
Allegations and counter-allegations, from autocracy, administrative high handedness, intolerance to financial recklessness and above all proven conspiracy bent on frustrating the actualisation of Asiwaju Bola Tinubu’s long presidential ambition, were levelled against him.
Again, to political pundits, Adamu failed to understand the maxim that political sins are never forgiven when he became a cannon fodder used by the Muhammadu Buhari-led presidency, as an instrument of frustration, to thwart Tinubu’s journey to the presidential seat.
In retrospect, Adamu openly moved against President Tinubu on several instances, particularly threatening heavy sanction over his outburst in Abeokuta, Ogun State, and trying to foist erstwhile Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, on his NWC members, as party’s anointed candidate on the eve of the APC presidential primary.
He did not stop there. He almost moved against President Tinubu’s choice of 10th National Assembly leadership by encouraging and giving false sense of hope to other aspiring legislators till the last minute against the wish of the presidency.
And stretching his luck further too far in the straw that broke the camel’s back, Adamu had disassociated himself from announcement of the remaining principal officers of both chambers, incurring the burning anger of President Tinubu who could not take it any longer, and unleashed authorities that pressurised him into resigning.
Adamu, in retrospect on resumption of office, had bared his fangs on both his NWC colleagues and members of the secretariat staff, warning them of dire consequences of disobeying his constituted authority as chairman.
To the NWC members, he warned: “I am a team player and as much as possible I want to carry everybody along with me, you have to be loyal. Your loyalty to me is loyalty to the party. You have to recognise the authority of the party in all that we do. The interest of the party is paramount.”
He did not also spare the secretariat staff as he not only issued intimidating threats to downsize, but also sacked the directors and threatened to prosecute them if implicated in any form of shoddy financial dealings.
He said; “As for you, Director of Administration, you have no hiding place. We will count on your loyalty… We have come with a very open mind, but you have to reciprocate in the same spirit. We will definitely look at you, but I will wait until the transition committee submits its report. It is my hope that by the time the report is submitted, you have what they call clean bill of ledge(sic); that’s my prayer.”
APC National Vice Chairman (North West), Salihu Moh Lukman, who engaged Adamu in long-drawn battle, had consistently demanded for his resignation as a way of balancing the lopsided Muslim-Muslim religious bias by the APC-led administration.
In enumerating his sins, Lukman, in a mischievous suggestion to put him in precarious situation that finally consumed him, noted: “It will be important that every necessary step is taken to inject a change of leadership for the party so that a new National Chairman who is a Christian takes over…”
Ever since then, Lukman had engaged Adamu in an unrelenting long-drawn epic battle to pressurise him into convening NEC meeting to scrutinise certain questionable decisions taken by the leadership and to deliberate on many anomalies crippling the ruling party.
Summarising his draconian administrative styles and reckless financial management of the party, Lukman wrote: “The sad reality is that the APC as constituted today is only a shadow of itself with a National Chairman that is highly unaccountable and running affairs of the party more as a garrison commander. He relates with his colleagues in the NWC just like his appointees.”
Frowning at Adamu’s financial dealings, Lukman declared that “APC, sadly, is in contempt of its own rules led by a determined and decidedly conservative, reactionary, and undemocratic leadership. Beyond all these is also a clear case of reckless financial management of the party.
“With more than N30 billion realised during the sales of forms for the 2023 elections, the National Chairman and General Secretary have embarked on a spending extravaganza based on their discretionary decisions without any form of the budget as required by the APC constitution.”
Jubilant secretariat members of staff celebrating his exit, described him as good radiance to bad rubbish in a chat with Sunday Sun.
They said: “On resumption, he threatened us with sack just to cow us to submission, yet he employed over 20 personal staff and gave them jumbo take-home packages.
“He denied us the allowances the party supposed to pay us. The party approved millions of Naira for the NWC members for the presidential election, but he refused to give us anything. He only paid us additional one month salary. But he gave money to the NWC members that could not deliver their wards. They lost their wards while the staff delivered.
“The most annoying one was our request for allocation of land in the FCT to the secretariat staff. The NWC members hijacked it and sent only their names as beneficiaries, which is currently awaiting approval. Our prayer is that it should not be approved.
“It is good that he is gone. He inflicted so much pain and misery on the staff, since resumption here. We have prayed for his exit and thank God our prayers have been answered. Let him go because we are tired of him.”
Also reacting to the development, APC chieftain, Osita Okechukwu, noted that his resignation was long overdue.
“I have earlier reacted on this issue in a chat before he took this action. I made it clear that Adamu should start preparing his handover note as he does not deserve second chance for failing in almost all the responsibilities assigned to him. His resignation is long overdue,” Okechukwu said.
For those keenly following the crisis rocking the ruling party, said that both Adamu and Omisore would give way was a bold handwriting on the wall only waiting manifestation in matter of time. Now that they are gone, the big question is what next for the ruling party.
And in responding to that, APC PGF Chairman, Hope Uzodimma assured in a chat with newsmen after a marathon meeting of the forum in Abuja within the week that peace has returned to the party over their resignations.
Ignoring to comment on the speculations that the immediate past governor of Kano State, Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, will serve out Adamu’s remaining tenure, Governor Uzodimma said: “You must have heard of the resignation of the National Chairman and the Secretary of the party.
“Those are voluntary actions that have been taken and with due respect to our national chairman, our secretary, we commended the wisdom in what they have done. They served us well in the party, we are happy with the services and the party is united, there is no crisis in the party. They are happy; we also are happy.
“So, we are in support of their actions and they would continue to be commended, be respected and recognise the services they have rendered to our great party. Their resignations have also been accepted by the leadership of the party. There is an acting chairman now and acting secretary.”
In the coming days, events will unfold on how the leaders of the party will manage the emergence of Adamu’s replacement in the persons of Simon Lalong, Ganduje, among others, in a non-rancorous manner to checkmate future trend of landmines consuming the leaderships of the ruling party.
