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Plot to oust Adamu as APC chairman thickens as Tinubu strengthens grip on power
By AYOOLA OLAOLUWA
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has continued to strengthen his grip on power after being sworn in as Nigeria’s president on May 29, 2023.
Since he was announced the winner of the February 25, 2023 presidential election by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the 70-year-old leader’s health status has been questioned by critics who speculate that his vice, Kashim Shettima, may soon take over power as he (Tinubu) won’t be able to complete his first four-year term owing to his rumored ill health.
However, Tinubu, known by his critics and supporters alike as “The Lion of Bourdillon”, seems to be consolidating his hold on power and breaking free from the influence of predecessor, Muhammadu Buhari.
He had effected major shake-ups in the last one month – implementing drastic economic reforms, replacing service chiefs appointed by his predecessor and sacking the boards of Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs).
Having effectively taken over the nation’s administrative, economic, political, and military establishments, the president is now plotting to take over the control of his party, the All Progressives Congress (APC), by installing loyal and trusted allies.
Business Hallmark had in its publication of Monday, June 26, 2023, captioned: ‘Tinubu consolidates power, breaks from Buhari’s regime’, reported that APC leaders from across the 36 states and the FCT, ostensibly representing the tens of millions of party members, will soon be meeting in Abuja.
According to the report, the purpose is largely to sack the Senator Abdullahi Adamu led APC NWC, and rubber-stamp new party officers and constitutional changes decided long before the congress by the president.
Barely 24 hours after the publication, precisely on June 27, the leadership of the APC summoned meetings of its National Caucus and the long-awaited National Executive Committee for July 10 and 11 respectively.
The dates for the meetings were announced in a statement by the party’s National Secretary on its official Twitter handle.
“The national caucus meeting is scheduled to hold on Monday, July 10 by 6.00pm prompt. Venue is Banquet Hall of the Presidential Villa in Abuja.
“All members of the National Caucus are by this invitation to take notice of the meeting in accordance with article 12.5 of the APC Constitution.
“The NEC meeting, however, is scheduled to hold on Tuesday, July 11, 2023 at 11.00am prompt at the Congress Hall of Transcorp Hilton in Abuja.
“All Members of the National Executive Committee are by this invitation to take notice of the meeting in accordance with article 12.3 of the APC Constitution”, the statement had advised.
The crucial sessions of the two statutory organs of the party, sources told our correspondent, will be attended by President Tinubu, his deputy, Kashim Shettima, former President Muhammadu Buhari, past and present APC governors, as well as former and current Senate President, Speaker of House of Representatives, National Working Committee (NWC) members and other party stakeholders.
Meanwhile, impeccable sources in the Presidency and the ruling APC informed BH that the meetings were called by the president in a move to further consolidate his hold on power.
“President Tinubu’s swift sacking of former service chiefs and the boards of MDAs appointed by his predecessor are signals for many that he is perhaps about to extend the reforms to the APC by putting in place his own men, his own women and his own team.
“Many of us close to the president felt that the party leadership was basically packed to the rafters with Buhari and CPC loyalists who worked against the emergence of the former Lagos State governor as the party’s presidential candidate during its primaries last year.
“So, I can tell you authoritatively that Abdullahi Adamu’s continuous stay as national chairman of the ruling party APC is about to come to an end as the party has concluded plans to remove him during its NEC meeting scheduled for July 11”, noted Alhaji Bolanle Inaolaji, an APC leader in Alimosho, Lagos.
BH reliably gathered that forces opposed to the embattled APC national chairman made several unsuccessful attempts in the last two years to force Adamu to convene a National Executive Council (NEC) meeting, the second highest organ of the party after the National Congress (NC).
However, Adamu, it was learnt, was shielded from incessant attacks and several plots to sack him by former President Muhammadu Buhari who ensured that the former Nasarawa governor remained in office.
“The statement always uttered by the president’s men each time we moved against Adamu is: ‘If there is no NEC and National Council meetings, there can’t be any sacking.
“So, they stalled all attempts to convey a NEC meeting as they were aware that Asiwaju has the required votes to sack the National Working Committee (NWC) and install his men in power.
“But as we all know, nothing last forever. Whatever goes up must come down. Yesterday was Buhari’s time, and today is Tinubu’s day. Tomorrow we don’t know.
“But what happens today we are going to decide. The Pharaoh that did not know Joseph has come to power. This is the beginning of the end of Adamu as APC national chairman”, a top APC chieftain told our correspondent.
The Adamu led NWC, it was learnt, would be suspended after being found guilty of two major infractions: anti-party activities and the mismanagement of party funds.
Their suspension, it was gathered, will pave way for the appointment of a caretaker committee to be followed by the election of a new NWC at a later date.
The National Vice Chairman West of the APC, Salihu Lukman, who is a known Tinubu apologist, have been at the forefront of anti-Adamu agitations.
For instance, Salihu Lukman had severally accused Adamu of corruption, as well as frustrating all attempts to convey NEC meetings to prevent his ouster.
A Tinubu loyalist who once served as a local government chairman in Lagos claimed Adamu’s stay as party chairman is no longer tenable owing to the simple reason that the man he worked against is now the president and party leader.
“We can’t easily forget his inglorious role in trying to force former Senate President Ahmad Lawan down our throats as the party’s presidential candidate by dropping Buhari’s name.
“He signed his death warrant when he announced Senate President Lawan as Buhari’s favored candidate for the ticket of the party.
“But unfortunately for him, Buhari buckled under pressure, announcing to the world that he had no horse in the race.
“If I were him (Adamu), I would have resigned before now to avoid the fate that is surely going to befall him”, another close confidant of the president told our correspondent.
Another allegation against Adamu was his ‘lack of commitment’ to the Tinubu presidential campaign.
Meanwhile, questions still remain over who will take over from Adamu as chairman, as well as who will serve as the party’s national secretary, the two most powerful positions in the NWC.
Tinubu, it was gathered, is mindful of losing the support of his strong support base in the North, particularly among sitting and immediate past governors from the North West and North Central if he moves too hard against them.
Sources informed BH that Tinubu will likely cede the national chairman’s position to the North, but will make sure that the office is occupied by one of his trusted supporters from that part of the country.
“To act as a counterpoise to the national chairman in the event that he turns against us in the future, we (Tinubu’s camp) have decided to fill up the rest of the positions, especially influential positions like the office of the national secretary, organising secretary and legal adviser with our loyalists from the South and North Central.
“You know that no matter how powerful the chairman is, he can’t successfully operate without the secretary who is constitutionally empowered to call for meetings and set agendas, and the organising secretary who is in charge of operations.
“Likewise, you need the buying in of the legal adviser to be able to effect any major constitutional change in the party.
“So, we are not going to allow these important offices to fall into the hands of our competitors”, a founding member of the Alliance for Democracy (AD), Action Congress (AC), Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) and APC disclosed.
