THE CABLE
Abdullahi Adamu was asked to resign as the national chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) on Sunday after a prolonged cold war with President Bola Tinubu, TheCable understands.
The APC chairman was advised to throw in the towel by Hope Uzodinma, the governor of Imo state and chairman of the Progressive Governors Forum (PGF).
Iyiola Omisore, the APC national secretary, allegedly became incommunicado upon getting wind of the development.
Party sources told TheCable that Adamu and Omisore were to face a vote of no confidence by NWC members on Monday afternoon following which they would be sacked by the national executive committee (NEC), chaired by Tinubu, on Wednesday.
There has been a cold war between Tinubu and Adamu since the former governor of Nasarawa state was elected party chairman in March 2022.
But the “final straw”, according to insiders, was Adamu’s failure to account for the N32 billion raised by the party from the sale of forms for the 2023 general election.
“Only N7 billion is left in the account as we speak,” an NWC member told TheCable.
“Adamu and Omisore claimed the account has been audited, but we are not aware of when the auditors were appointed. How can NWC not be aware of the appointment? It is part of our responsibilities to appoint auditors.”
Before the N32 billion question became a bone of contention, Adamu’s exit appeared imminent.
While Tinubu supported Tanko Al Makura, also a former governor of Nasarawa state, for the position of national chairman, party leaders loyal to former President Muhammadu Buhari rooted for Adamu.
This was thought to be the first move to stop Tinubu from winning the party’s presidential ticket.
Ahead of the APC presidential primary in June 2022, Tinubu complained bitterly that he was being betrayed despite the fact that a gentleman’s agreement was sealed in 2015 for him to succeed Buhari.
Sensing the move to remove him, Adamu had reportedly sought the support of the chairmen of the state chapters of the party but received a cold shoulder.
“By the APC constitution, the proceeds were supposed to be shared with the zonal, state and ward levels of the party, and they were not in the know. So there was no way they were going to support him,” another party insider told TheCable.
ADAMU VS TINUBU: THE RETURN LEG
