ADC Crisis Deepens in Adamawa As Group Protests Alleged Plot to Substitute Guber Candidate

Daji Sani in Yola 

The crisis in the African Democratic Congress (ADC) over its Adamawa governorship candidacy has deepened following a peaceful protest staged by a political movement known as ‘Adamawa Forward Political Organization’ at the party’s state secretariat in Yola on Monday.

The demonstration was triggered by the emergence of Ambassador Omar Suleiman Omarana as the ADC standard-bearer, a development that has reportedly been greeted with misgivings within the party. Rumors have circulated that certain interests are working to substitute him ahead of the 2027 elections.

Secretary of the group, Hon. Joshua Buba, addressed the demonstrators at the ADC secretariat and said the organization was uncomfortable with unconfirmed claims that Ambassador Omarana, who was democratically elected as the party’s candidate, could be replaced by other interests.

Buba explained that members of the ADC in Adamawa State are disturbed by the development and are calling on the leadership and stakeholders of the party to intervene to ensure fairness and justice in the process.

He accused some politicians based in Abuja of deliberately causing confusion for the party’s standard-bearer by allegedly trying to replace him with one Hamman Tukur. 

“What we are hearing is that, some people are currently at the party’s headquarters in Abuja making frantic efforts to substitute Omarana with one, Hamman Tukur,” Buba told the protesters.

The group warned that it would resist any attempt to impose a candidate on the people of the state, claiming that their sources at the national secretariat alerted them that those pushing for the change are allegedly offering monetary inducement.

Buba said such a move would be catastrophic for the party with the 2027 elections approaching, and urged extra caution in handling the situation in the interest of all party members.

He also called on the presidential candidate of the party, former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar, to intervene and ensure peace in the state chapter.

Also speaking, the state Public Relations Officer of the movement, Abdulaziz Mohammed, popularly known as ‘Goje Maiha,’ expressed displeasure with the situation. 

He said as Adamawa electorate, they would not allow such an occurrence in the state.

Mohammed appealed to Atiku Abubakar to come out and disassociate himself from the uproar, noting that someone is calling his name and telling people that he ordered the move for the alleged substitution. 

“Honestly, what is happening is absurd and unfortunate because our bigwigs are said to be part of the plot. In fact, somebody is bragging that it was the former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar who ordered Omarana to be replaced,” Mohammed said.

He stressed that such undemocratic moves could affect Atiku’s chances in the 2027 polls.

Efforts to get the reaction of the ADC party chairman in the state, Mr. Ibrahim Sadiq Dasin, were unsuccessful as calls to his phone were not answered. 

Similarly, attempts to reach the spokesman for former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar were unsuccessful at the time of filing this report.