Says he inherited N7.5bn legal debt
Abuja agog as Buhari inaugurates PCC today
Tinubu’s action plan to be unveiled
BY BENEDICT NWACHUKWU, ABUJA
The National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, Abdullahi Adamu, has disclosed that his National Working Committee inherited a bill of N7.5 billion as legal charges when he took over office in April this year.
He made the disclosure on Thursday during an interactive session with members of the APC Press Corps.
He said the bad press on his sacking of the directors who worked with the Caretaker and Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee prior to the coming of the present NWC which was reported as an effort to fix his people in their position was a lie from the pit of hell.
Adamu said the mess in the Buhari House National Secretariat of the party was so alarming to the extent that everyone was doing whatever he/ she liked, but that being a man whose DNA runs totally against such, he had to act by removing the affected directors.
“Those of you who are truly covering the APC know that we don’t have 200 staff working here, but when it comes to payment of salaries we have more than that number on the payroll.”
There are ripples in the APC as Adamu has replaced the directors of various departments he earlier suspended.
Adamu had, on April 22, ordered all departmental directors at the party’s national secretariat in Abuja to proceed on indefinite suspension over allegations of corruption.
They are; Elder Anietie Offong (Director, Welfare); Bartholomew I. Ugwoke (Research); Abubakar Suleiman (Finance); Dr Suleiman Abubakar (Administration); Salisu Na’inna Dambatta (Publicity); and Dare Oketade, Head, Legal.
On assumption of office on April 1, Adamu had set up a transition committee headed by a former governor of Jigawa State, Ali Saad Birnin Kudu, to study the handing over notes of the then Caretaker/Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee led by Yobe State Governor Mai Mala Buni and other issues affecting the party.
The directors were said to have been sacked based on the recommendations of the committee.
All efforts to get back to their offices, including writing a letter dated July 20, 2022, seeking the intervention of the National Executive Committee proved abortive.
Top sources at the party’s headquarters in Abuja, also said that the suspended directors wrote another letter to the NWC and copied the Chairman, Progressive Governors’ Forum and Kebbi State governor, Atiku Bagudu, demanding to return to their offices.
The compulsory one-month leave given to them started on April 22 and ended on May 22, 2022 but they were not allowed to return to their offices.
There is bickering in the party as some officials and secretariat workers have said Adamu and the party’s national secretary, Iyiola Omisore, brought in new directors to replace the suspended ones without the knowledge of other key players.
Meanwhile, President Muhammadu Buhari will today inaugurate the Presidential Campaign Council of the APC at the State House, Abuja ahead of the 2023 elections.
The inauguration will formally kick start the party’s campaign activities that were initially suspended due to controversy generated by the 422-member campaign list initially released.
Party chieftains and key stakeholders had alleged that they were not carried along in the scheme of things.
While the controversy rages, a leaked letter allegedly authored by Adamu and addressed to the APC presidential candidate, Bola Tinubu demanded the immediate withdrawal of the campaign list.
Though the party leadership later made U-turn 24 hours later and denied authoring the letter, the Director General of the PCC and the Governor of Plateau State, Simon Lalong, issued a statement suspending all campaign activities of the party to ensure everyone was carried along and that the party presented a united front.
However, at the end of the meeting between Tinubu, APC governors, PCC and members of the party’s NWC last week, spokesperson of PCC, Festus Keyamo told journalists that the schedule of Buhari was delaying the flag of the campaign.
He explained that Buhari’s schedule has to be put into consideration before a specific date would be fixed for the commencement of campaign.
The Director, Media and Publicity of Tinubu-Shettima Presidential Campaign Council, Bayo Onanuga, also said that the PCC and the action plan of the presidential candidate of the party, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu would be unveiled on Friday
According to him, “By the grace of God on Friday, we are inaugurating the PCC and the action plan of the candidate.”
The President, who doubles as the chairman of the campaign council, had promised to lead his party’s campaign and deliver the votes to ensure the victory of the party in the 2023 elections.
After dragging for weeks since the first list was released, the APC on Wednesday night released a fresh list of members of its PCC, naming Adamu as second in command to Buhari.
The fresh list was signed by the national secretary of the party, Iyiola Omisore, unlike the initial 422-member list signed by Tinubu.
The list showed that the Adamu-led NWC may have taken full charge of the party’s presidential campaign team.
President Buhari is still the chairman of the campaign council.
Unlike in the first controversial list, Adamu, in the fresh list, has now swapped positions with Tinubu as deputy chairman of the council, while the party’s standard bearer is now third in command as deputy chairman II, with his running mate, Kashim Shettima, retaining his initial position as vice chairman.
Plateau State governor, Simon Lalong, is still the director general, while former APC national chairman, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, remains deputy director general, Operations.
James Faleke also retained his position as secretary of the council.
All members of the APC NWC, all former and present APC governors and their deputies, all members of the National Assembly, among others are members of the campaign council.
