FACTIONS TRADE ACCUSATIONS AS BATTLE FOR CONTROL OF ADAMAWA ADC PERSISTS. (PHOTO).

 Factions trade accusations as battle for control of Adamawa ADC persists

The leadership crisis within the Adamawa State chapter of African Democratic Congress, ADC, has taken a new turn with a leading stakeholder, Comrade Umar Yakub, condemning the faction led by Shehu Yohanna for rejecting a four-man reconciliation committee constituted to address the party’s internal contentions.

‎The ADC family in Adamawa State began to fall apart in July this year when prominent politicians started to step into the party.

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar led the entrance of high profile persons into the party when he officially resigned from the PDP.

Atiku was quickly followed by the 2023 governorship candidate of the APC, Senator Aishatu Ahmed (Binani), and then Adamawa State governor in 2015-2019, Senator Jibrilla Bindow.

The swelling of the ranks of the ADC by these prominent individuals and their supporters has also led to a contest for relevance in the party, hence the friction that has since ensued.

Although Shehu Yohanna has appeared to be the most accepted state chairman of the party over the past couple of months, another leading party member, Mustapha Arabi, has not submitted to Shehu’s leadership but insisting that he is indeed the chairman.

In his own submission on the crisis, Umar Yakubu, in a statement issued under the banner of the Concerned ADC Stakeholders in Adamawa State, accused the Yohanna group of desperation and a deliberate attempt to frustrate efforts at restoring unity in the party.

‎He said the faction’s move to disown the committee headed by retired Brigadier General Ishaya Bauka to reconcile the differences among members is an attempt to cover up its waning legitimacy.

‎“To label this committee as fraudulent is defamatory and exposes the Shehu Yohanna faction’s fear of accountability and genuine reform,” Yakubu stated.

‎He urged the national leadership of the ADC to urgently validate the work of the committee and reconstitute the state leadership that reflects the will of all members.

‎The national ADC leadership had last week established committees to resolve crisis in Adamawa and Gombe states, but the Shehu Yohanna group had in a statement dismissed the reconciliation committee for Adamawa State, saying, among other claims, that the committee was never authorized by the duly recognized leadership of the ADC.

‎The group, asserting that the ADC in Adamawa is united, warned ‘detractors’ against dragging the party into needless controversies.

‎“The individuals named in the circulation are not card-carrying members of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) in Adamawa State. Consequently, the Adamawa State Executive Committee unequivocally and categorically distances itself from the said committee and its activities,” the group stated.