APC National Chairman Abdullahi Adamu has been accused of making decisions unilaterally, sidelining the National Working Committee (NWC). The National Vice Chairman for the North‑West, Malam Salihu Lukman, claims that Adamu has repeatedly refused to provide an up‑to‑date account of the party’s finances, including the billions of naira raised from the sale of nomination and expression‑of‑interest forms for the 2023 general elections. Lukman previously made a similar allegation before last year’s APC convention, accusing Adamu of excluding NWC members from decision‑making.
The Kaduna politician’s concerns intensified after recent developments at the party’s national secretariat. In a leaked letter dated 27 May 2022, titled “Rebuilding APC: Need for new initiatives,” Lukman warned that the NWC leadership could “snowball” into oblivion, echoing the fate of previous administrations under Adams Oshiomhole and Mai Mala Buni. The letter, addressed to the chairman, was copied to President Muhammadu Buhari (retired), Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, Senate President Ahmad Lawan, Speaker of the House of Representatives Femi Gbajabiamila, Chief Bisi Akande, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, Chief Ogbonnaya Onu, and all NWC members.
A year after that drama, Lukman again charged Adamu with reducing NWC members to mere rubber stamps for decisions he takes alone. In a statement titled “APC and Questions of Progressive Credentials,” issued in Abuja on Monday, the former Director‑General of the Progressive Governors Forum noted that, besides failing to render the party’s accounts for the past year, APC staff at the secretariat are hired and dismissed at the chairman’s whim, without oversight from any organ, including the NWC. He asserted:
> “As a member of the NWC, I can say without fear of contradiction that all decisions bordering on managing the party’s finances are being taken by the National Chairman, Sen. Abdullahi Adamu, and the National Secretary, Sen. Iyiola Omisore. Most NWC members are reduced to onlookers or, at best, rubber stamps. All appeals for accountability have fallen on deaf ears. The decision of the NWC to convene the NEC meeting in August last year was simply sabotaged.
Lukman highlighted that the party has earned billions of naira from form sales for the 2023 elections, yet the NWC has not disclosed how much was inherited from the Mai Mala‑led caretaker committee or received as donations. Large‑scale expenditures, such as the renovation of the National Secretariat complex, are proceeding without due diligence. He warned that when the party’s constitution ceases to guide affairs, discretionary decisions dominate, leading to arbitrary payments to party officials and organs. Consequently, decisions on the allocation of party income to states, local governments, and wards are made solely by the chairman and secretary, and staff are hired or fired without reporting to any body, including the NWC.
Lukman also cited embarrassing reports of unpaid allowances for members who served on screening, primary, and appeals committees for the 2023 elections, as well as refunds owed to aspirants who withdrew from the March 28 2022 National Convention to facilitate consensus.
His alarm follows a call, a month earlier, by former Deputy National Publicity Secretary Yekini Nabena for the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission to investigate alleged financial impropriety and fund mismanagement within the APC. In an exclusive interview, Nabena urged President‑elect Bola Tinubu to dissolve the current NWC, stating that none of its members deserve to be retained. When approached for comment, National Publicity Secretary Felix Morka declined to respond, saying, “I have nothing to say on it. You, people, are at liberty to report whatever you want to write on anything concerning it.” The APC Director of Media and Publicity, Bala Ibrahim, could not be reached and had not returned calls or messages at the time of this report.
Comments are closed for this story.