Fears For Adamu As Cold War With Tinubu Worsens

The selection of principal officers of the National Assembly, on Tuesday, blew open the cold war between President Bola Tinubu and the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Senator Abdullahi Adamu, as he was blanked out in the decision on how offices were zoned by the lawmakers.

There are now fears that the stint of Adamu as national chairman could come to an end earlier than as envisaged.

GWG.ng reports that the cold war between Tinubu and Adamu first emerged when the national chairman in the days leading to the presidential primaries vowed that the then-presidential aspirant would be punished by the party for his Emilokan assertion.

While Adamu distanced the ruling party from the selection of principal officers of the National Assembly APC governors on the other hand, endorsed the appointments and described the new officers as “prominent members of the party.”

Sources close to the Presidency told The Guardian that President Tinubu was privy to the zoning and appointments of the principal officers but expressed concerns at the statement by Adamu that the party was not aware of how the decisions were made.

The source said: “I can confirm to you that President Tinubu was consulted by the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio and Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas, about the appointments before the Sallah holiday. However, I am surprised that the national chairman of the party is claiming ignorance of it. I am sure the matter will be sorted out. It is an internal matter.”

At the resumption of the National Assembly, Akpabio announced the Ekiti Central lawmaker, Opeyemi Bamidele, as the Senate Majority Leader; Senator Dave Umahi (Ebonyi South) as Deputy Majority Leader; Senator Ali Ndume (Borno South) as Chief Whip; and Senator Lola Ashiru (Kwara South) as Deputy Whip.

In the same vein, Abbas announced Prof Julius Ihonvbere (Edo) as the House Majority Leader. Other principal officers were Kogi State-born Halims Abdullahi as Deputy Majority Leader; Usman Kumo from Gombe State as Chief Whip and Adewumi Onanuga (Ogun) as House Deputy Chief Whip. On the minority side, Kano State-born Ali Madaki emerged the Deputy Minority Leader and Mrs Adewunmi Oriyomi Onanuga (Ogun) as the Deputy Chief Whip of the House.

Kingsley Chinda, former chairman of the House committee on Public Accounts and an ally of the former Rivers State governor, Nyesom Wike, had earlier been named the Minority leader of the lower legislative chamber.

In the Senate, it was believed that the G-5 of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), led by Wike, defeated the candidate of the party, Aminu Tambuwal, by ensuring that Mwadkwon Simon Davou (PDP, Plateau North) emerged as Minority Leader while Oyewumi Kamorudeen Olarere (PDP Osun West) became Deputy Minority Leader.

Others are Dalington Nwokeocha (LP, Abia Central) as Minority Whip and Rufai Hanga (NNPP Kano Central) as the Deputy Minority Whip.

EXPRESSING concerns at how the principal officers emerged without carrying the party along, Adamu, who claimed to have hosted Akpabio during the Eid-el-Kabir celebration, said: “I had a courtesy call on Saturday from the President of the Senate and his Deputy. The following day, which was Sunday, I received the Speaker and his Deputy for Sallah’s homage.

“But I am just hearing a rumour now from online media that there have been some announcements in the Senate and House of Representatives. The national headquarters of the party was 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 tradition. So whatever announcement is done either by the President of the Senate, Deputy Senate President, Speaker or Deputy Speaker, is not from this secretariat.”

Adamu, who spoke shortly after the meeting of the APC National Working Committee (NWC), disclosed that the membership of the APC caucus has been reconstituted in line with the party constitution just as he elicited the support of the governors in repositioning the party.

He also promised to render the audited accounts of the party expenditure from April 2022 to April 2023, as well as monies spent by the presidential campaign council (PCC) submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

With the development, stakeholders are predicting that the cold war between Tinubu and Adamu may come to a head at the forthcoming National Executive Committee, NEC meeting of the APC.

With additional reports from The Guardian

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