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By Omoniyi Salaudeen
A thick cloud of uncertainty appears to be gathering over the fate of Senator Abdullahi Adamu-led National Working Committee (NWC) of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
The embattled former Nasarawa State governor has been in the eyes of the storm since the buildup to the presidential primary that led to the emergence of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu as the standard bearer of the party and his subsequent assumption of office as president.
One of his alleged sins is his overt opposition to the candidacy of Tinubu. Adamu, a die-hard supporter of former President Muhammadu Buhari, over-stretched the advantage of his closeness to the corridors of power, dictating the shots. He was always at the beck and call of the powers that be.
At the height of the intrigues that characterized the agitation for power shift to the South, when Tinubu made his popular Emilokan (It’s my turn) statement at Abeokuta to ventilate his anger over what he perceived as frustrating hurdles put on his way by the primary screening committee, he (Adamu) was the first to demand a retraction of the alleged derogatory remark he (Tinubu) made about Buhari. Swiftly and unequivocally, he condemned the outburst and threatened to apply punitive sanctions.
Tinubu had claimed that Buhari prostrated to him, begging for his support in the run-up to the 2015 general elections, insisting that it was his turn to rule the country. In response, Adamu, who was apparently livid with anger, retorted: “He went as far as saying how Gen. Muhammadu Buhari went to him, citing instances of even prostrating in tears begging him to endorse him and to support him for the presidency. He claimed Buhari went to him.
“His utterances are very insulting. It’s 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.
“It is amazing how a fellow APC person would make that kind of comment in that kind of circumstances about the president. We take exception to this. It has shown that he does not show any appreciable level of respect for the office of Mr. President.
“Yes, we saw some part of a retraction but that effort is not adequate. It is not sincere. It is not in-depth enough. It doesn’t wipe out the impression that that event has left in our minds.”
Wittingly or unwittingly, Adamu eventually succumbed to the wish of the majority of the members of the APC who overwhelmingly elected Tinubu as their standard bearer and vigorously participated in the campaign activities that led to the success of the party in the February 25, 2023, presidential election.
So, whatever is perceived to be his sins, whether forgiven or not forgiven, it is on record that he led the APC and its presidential candidate to victory. But this is politics; there is always a payback time. This could be an opportunity for those he had offended to take their pound of flesh.
Beyond that, there were also some aggrieved members of the party who had ill-feeling against Adamu’s emergence as the National Chairman under Buhari. They are now part of the forces pushing for a change of status quo. At any rate, the rising storm of opposition against his continued stay in office is perceivable. It is real; it is touchable, it is ferociously precarious and overwhelming. So much storming to the extent that some naysayers are already predicting an end to his tenure. From the signals emerging from the corridors of power, it would be much easier for the proverbial camel to pass through the eyes of the needle than for his National Working Committee-led members to survive the impending tsunami. To say it raw, they might just simply be running on an injury time.
Though not without a rebuttal, it is now crystal clear that there is a deliberate effort by the Presidency to keep Adamu at arm’s length. Among other signals, the alleged exclusion of the NWC of the party from the power zoning arrangement within the leadership of the 10th National Assembly is a tactical way of showing disapproval for his deficit of trust.
Adamu shot himself in the leg on Tuesday when he declared that the national headquarters of the party had no hand in the election of the new leadership of both arms of the National Assembly.
He categorically distanced the APC NWC from the emergence of Senator Godswill Akpabio as the Senate President and the emergence of Tajudeen Abbas as the Speaker of the House Representatives, as well as other principal officers.
At the upper chamber, the Senate President, Senator Godswill Akpabio, on Tuesday announced Senators Opeyemi Bamidele, Dave Umahi, Ali Ndume, and Lola Ashiru as Majority Leader, Deputy Majority Leader, Chief Whip, and Deputy Chief Whip of the Senate respectively. The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Abbas, on the other hand, named Julius Ihonvbere and Kingsley Chinda as the Majority Leader and Minority Leader accordingly. They both represent the APC and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) respectively.
However, Adamu, while reacting to the development during a meeting with APC governors held at the secretariat of the party, said that the NWC had no hand in the decision of the lawmakers.
His words: “I had a courtesy call on Saturday from the President of the Senate and his Deputy. The following Sunday, I received the Speaker and his Deputy Speaker coming to me for Sallah’s homage.
“But, I am just hearing a rumour now from the online media that there have been some announcements in the Senate and House of Representatives. The national headquarters of the party of 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 done either by the President of the Senate, Deputy Senate President, Speaker or Deputy Speaker, is not from this Secretariat.”
By this declaration, Adamu appears to be on his own. One, overtly or covertly, the emergence of the leadership of the two chambers had express approval of the Presidency. Secondly, the zoning arrangement adopted by the National Assembly for the distribution of all offices could not have been reached without the consent of the governors. And more importantly, he has over-reached himself by thinking that it is mandatory for the lawmakers to seek approval of the party for every internal affair of the legislature. If at all such consultation is sometimes necessary, it is not something that could be done so brazenly. Doing so would not only rub the legislature of the democratic tenet of power separation among the three arms of the government, but also give the party a bad image for undue interference.
With this development, there is a strong battle lying ahead for Adamu to fight if he must retain his position as the party’s chairman. Having thrown the charge, he would surely meet considerable force from the new National Assembly leadership, the governors who are part of the whole power-sharing arrangement and even the president who is the overall leader of the party. From all indications, this may be the last straw that will break the camel’s back. In party hierarchy and in line with antecedents, federal lawmakers remain a strong force in key decision-making such as the dissolution of NWC or the ouster of the national chairman.
Already, some governors are said to be displeased with Adamu’s unrestraint outburst, seeing it as an indication of his readiness to rock the boat.
For instance, it was reported that Governor Umar Bago of Niger State did not mince words in faulting his position. He was said to have told him pointedly that it was wrong of him to have spoken the way he spoke, insisting that the principal officers of the National Assembly emerged after wide consultations with the relevant stakeholders.
His Yobe State counterpart, Mai Mala Buni, equally made the same allusion, saying that it was as if stakeholders of the party were all working at cross-purposes.
For being so reckless in his utterances, Adamu is currently presiding over a divided NWC. As widely reported, some members of the Committee have already distanced themselves from what they perceived as a declaration of war against the principal officers of the National Assembly.
With the current state of things, Adamu might be on his way out of office. Even though he has met with the President, there is no guarantee that he will survive the threat of his looming removal. By his antecedent, Tinubu does not like anyone confronting him. When he was the Lagos State governor, he did not tolerate insubordination. And it will be too presumptuous to assume what he will do now that he is holding a higher position of responsibility.
Chief Chekwas Okorie, examining the whole scenario in a telephone discussion with Sunday Sun, advised the embattled National Chairman to take an honourable bow before the axe falls on him. He said: “He should have been more circumspect in his pronouncement. If I were him, an honourable resignation will be better than any forceful removal. I suggest he should resign honourably because obviously, he does not fit into the APC of today.
“Quite frankly, I must tell you that I am thoroughly disappointed with the type of leadership Senator Adamu is providing. He is creating more crisis in the party than necessary. He should be the one closing all the gaps to make sure the party is healthy in terms of internal coercion. I am not a member of the APC, but I am also a chairman of a party for a long time, longer than him.
“I can imagine that he came into that office with a definite agenda maybe because of the way and manner he assumed that power. He started by going beyond his National Working Committee to announce a preferred candidate for presidency in the run-up to the 2023 general elections. Before he knew it, the majority of the governors of his own party and members of the NWC opposed him. At the end of the day, he lost out. Luckily for him and the party, the election was won, making him continue to be the chairman of the party. One would have expected him to show more maturity.”
While not totally opposed to the role of the ruling APC in the emergence of the principal officers of the National Assembly, he opined that he (Adamu) should have left the responsibility of filling other remaining positions without any further undue interference from outside.
His words: “For us, we know that the party played a major role in the election of the principal officers of the National Assembly particularly the Senate President, Deputy Senate President, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and the Deputy Speaker. Since the National Assembly has been inaugurated, the party should allow the National Assembly to run its affairs believing that those who have been elected will protect the interest of the party. He should have known that those people elected could not have brazenly decided on other key positions without recourse to the president who played more role than himself in ensuring that the party won. If I were him, what I would have done is to first reach out to the president to resolve any difference internally. But now, he has already fired the shot publicly before even going to see the president. And now, there is a crack in the NWC. Governors are also not with him. The leadership of the National Assembly now sees him as someone to be avoided.”
A former lawmaker in the Third Republic and Yoruba leader of thought, Hon. Wale Oshun, re-echoed the same submission, stressing the need for the independence of the legislature as a separate arm of government.
“I think we as Nigerians need to make up our minds about what we want. Those who emerged as officers of the National Assembly emerged because members have decided among themselves on those who will lead them. But we are having too much interference from outside. “The party can intervene by way of zoning arrangements to achieve the balance of power sharing. They can also meet regularly with the members to discuss the direction of politics and governance.
“But it is not as if anybody can seat somewhere and be telling them what to do. Once the positions have been zoned, members should be allowed to choose those they have confidence in among themselves. It will be wrong for anybody to choose the leaders of the Senate or the leaders of the House of Representatives. So, the parties have to coordinate their interference.
“Even the president should not be seen as playing an obvious role in the emergence of the leadership of the National Assembly. If not, why are we talking about the independence of the legislature? The kind of independence we are talking of must respect the wishes of the people because whatever you do will have a direct impact on governance. However, if they (lawmakers) allow themselves to be manipulated either by the party or the executive, that will be their problem,” he declared.
