Factional crisis deepens in Adamawa ADC as parallel caretaker committee emerges

Some prominent leaders and members of the African Democratic Congress, ADC, in Adamawa State on Sunday inaugurated a parallel caretaker committee to lead the party in the state.

This came barely 24 hours after a different set of leaders inaugurated what they also called a steering committee, which members of the public had taken as the authentic new leadership of the party in the state.

While Saturday’s inauguration was chaired by the ADC National Vice Chairman for the North East, Babachir Lawal, Sunday’s parallel event was supervised by the party’s Assistant National Organising Secretary and North East Zonal Organising Secretary, Umar Bello Jada.

This new wave of factionalisation within ADC, driven by national officers, marks a notable escalation from previous disputes that had involved less prominent figures.

The struggle for supremacy has now clearly emerged between Babachir Lawal, a former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, and former Vice President and national leader of the party, Atiku Abubakar.

Abubakar Jada, who is Atiku’s kinsman, along with another top figure in the new parallel caretaker committee, Senator Aishatu Ahmed Binani, are staunch loyalists of Atiku.

The parallel caretaker committee, comprising 44 members, has Malam Saidu Komsiri as chairman.

In a resolution read by Jada on behalf of the Zonal Working Committee of ADC, the committee accused Babachir Lawal of taking unilateral decisions and abusing his authority in constituting the committee inaugurated on Saturday, claiming that his actions were undertaken without due consultation or approval from the zonal organs of the party.

Senior stakeholders, including Binani, Jada, Abdullahi Musa Speaker, and Senator Ahmed Barata, donated over N100 million in cash to the newly inaugurated executive as a take-off grant.