By Nchetachi Chukwuajah
A faction of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) in Adamawa State has announced the suspension of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar.
The factional chairman of the party in the state, Raji Zumo, announced the decision during a press conference on Monday, April 13.
The party’s faction also suspended former Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Babachir Lawal, and the party’s transition committee chairman, Sadiq Ibrahim.
In a video of the press conference posted by Nigerian Affairs Journal, Zumo accused the suspended members of fostering disunity and disregarding a subsisting court order.
He said, “Let it be clearly stated, no individual, regardless of his status or influence, is above the law or the constitution of the African Democratic Congress, as long as he is a card-carrying member of the party.
“Gentlemen of the press, African Democratic Congress is built on discipline, justice, and the supremacy of law.
“In view of the foregoing and after executive consultation, the leadership of the ADC in Adamawa State hereby announces the immediate suspension of the following individuals from the party.
“One, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, Waziri Adamawa; Engineer David Baba Lawal, Vice Chairman, North East; Barrister Sadiq Ibrahim Dasin, Transition Committee Chairman.
“Those individuals are suspended for their roles in fostering disunity, creating parallel structures, undermining lawful authority, and disregarding a subsisting court order.
“This action is taken in the best interest of the party to restore order, protect its dignity, and reaffirm our commitment to democratic values.”
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Meanwhile, former SGF, Babachir Lawal, has said the purported suspension of Atiku, himself, and others should be disregarded, describing the group as “Indian hemp smokers.”
Lawal said, “If some people take heavy Indian hemp, they can claim to be President of Nigeria, so don’t consider them as normal people. Indian hemp is at duty.”
The former SGF, who is the Vice Chairman of the ADC, North East region, said Raji has no reasonable position in the ADC that empowered him to speak on behalf of the party.
“Raji’s actions demonstrated the power of Indian hemp against our young men. What is his position in the party in Adamawa State, if not influence of drugs?” he said.
Also, the Adamawa State Chairman of the ADC, Shehu Yohanna, said the statement credited to Raji was baseless, insisting that he had left the party long ago.
He said, “Raji was my deputy, before he disappeared to an unknown place, only for him to resurface on social media on Monday, suspending our father, Atiku Abubakar.”
The development comes amid an ongoing leadership dispute within the ADC at the national level.
The internal crisis is related to tensions over the party’s national leadership structure involving former Senate President, David Mark.
A faction of the party led by Nafiu Bala Gombe is laying claim to the position of national chairman of the ADC.
Meanwhile, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had, on April 1, announced the derecognition of the Mark-led leadership of the party.
However, the Mark-led ADC has reaffirmed that it remains strong and ready for its national convention scheduled for Tuesday, April 14.
