Barely 24 hours after the National Working Committee (NWC) of the ruling had All Progressives Congress (APC) disowned the recently appointed principal officers of the National Assembly; three NWC members have distanced themselves from the position.
They said the party’s National Chairman, Senator Abdullahi Adamu, deliberately made the comment which they described as anti-Tinubu, without the knowledge of the governors and other NWC members.
In a letter read at the plenary Tuesday, Senate President Godswill Akpabio named Senators Opeyemi Bamidele (Ekiti Central) as Majority Leader, Ali Ndume (Borno South) as Chief Whip, David Umahi (Ebonyi South) as Deputy Leader and Lola Ashiru (Kwara Central) as Deputy Whip.
Reacting to the development during an interactive meeting with the Progressives Governors Forum (PGF) at the party’s national secretariat, the APC national chairman had said his leadership was not aware of the announcement made in the National Assembly by the Senate President and the Speaker.
“I am just hearing as 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, the NWC has not given any such information or communicated about the choice of officers.
“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 is done is not from this secretariat,” Adamu had said.
‘Count us out’
However, speaking with a select journalists Wednesday in Abuja, the three NWC members, who pleaded anonymity, dissociated the NWC and APC governors from the statement made by Adamu.
“During the meeting, many governors who spoke on the issue cautioned the Chairman and urged him to reach out to the leadership of the National Assembly and resolve the matter amicably. It was unanimously believed at the meeting that the emergence of leaders of the two chambers of the National Assembly is with the blessing of the President,” they said.
The trio further expressed worry that “it would appear that the National Chairman has made up his mind not to work harmoniously with President Asiwaju as he repeatedly keep disputing decisions he has made towards constituting his government.
“We, therefore, distance ourselves and the NWC from such actions that clearly undermine the smooth take-off of the APC federal government under the leadership of President Asiwaju and call on the National Chairman to desist from such action.”
Ex-BoT member wants chair sacked
in a related development, an APC chieftain and former member of the party’s Board of Trustees (BoT), Dr Garus Gololo, has expressed disappointment over the position of Adamu on the choices of the NASS principal officers, and therefore called for his removal.
The ruling party, it could be recalled, was enmeshed in internal party crises since the rejection of former Senate President Ahmad Ibrahim Lawan as the APC presidential flag bearer by major stakeholders before the party’s presidential primaries.
He said a protest march would be staged soon in Abuja by a coalition of like minds and of course party stakeholders to further demand his removal from office.
The party chieftain queried why the APC chair would always kick against every consensus decision of the party stakeholders just to have his way.
“It is appalling that Senator Abdullahi Adamu, who was never the choice of the party stakeholders before he became the party Chairman, can be this dangerous to the party. We all know he was handpicked… and it was a very painful thing that such a man who was not the stakeholders’ choice should now turn against the party with gross misconduct.
“We are also not happy because so many of us are not being sensitive to Adamu’s outburst and indifference to the party’s decisions. And I also know that he is still venting his anger on the coming of Bola Ahmed Tinubu as the APC flag bearer during the primaries and subsequently emerged President of the Nation. So his rejection of the outcome of the National Assembly leadership election is another slap to the party hierarchy. It is a direct affront to those who have overlooked his misgivings since the elections in which he deliberately failed to work for the party in Nasarawa state,” Gololo said.
“I also think that Sen. Abdullahi Adamu before now should have concentrated on how to unite the party after the storm of the elections has settled and also suggest ways on how to move the party and the nation forward,” he added.
