Concerns that they may have been under duress to quit led to the unprecedented resignations of the party secretary and chairman on Monday.
Following the resignations of the All Progressives Congress (APC) National Chairman, Senator Abdullahi Adamu, and National Secretary, Senator Iyiola Omisore, governors of the party gathered in private Wednesday evening to examine the situation inside the organisation.
The two retired on Monday, clearing the way for Senator Abubakar Kyari, the Deputy National Chairman (North), to become the party’s National Chairman.
Governors Biodun Oyebanji of Ekiti, Francis Nwifuru of Ebonyi, Umar Bago of Niger, and Hyacinth Alia of Benue were present during the meeting presided over by Senator Hope Uzodinma, Chairman of the Progressive Governors Forum.
Governors Uba Sani of Kaduna, Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos, Mai Mala Buni of Yobe, Dikko Umar Radda of Katsina, Nasir Idris of Kebbi, and Lucky Aiyedatiwa, the acting governor of Ondo State are among the others.
After the Monday National Working Committee (NWC) meeting in Abuja, Kyari succeeded Adamu as the party’s chairman.
After the NWC meeting, Kyari officially informed the media that Adamu and Omisore would be stepping down as the party’s National Chairman and National Secretary, respectively.
Kyari added that Festus Fuanter, the APC’s deputy national secretary, will operate as the party’s national secretary in accordance with the party’s charter.
Under Pressure To Resign?
Former National Legal Adviser for the APC, Muiz Banire, SAN, hypothesised that the resignations might not have been voluntary but rather compelled.
On Monday, shortly after Kyari was elected as the new APC National Chairman and the resignations of Adamu and Omisore as national party officers, Banire appeared on Channels Television’s Politics Today.
“I have been reading Mr. Lukman Saliu for some time; he has been raising a lot of issues, particularly bordering on maladministration of the party, misappropriation of funds, and so on,” he added.
“Well, that could be a contributing factor because, as a matter of fact, in NWC those are occasionally issues that confront or challenge the body, I suppose.
“So, it’s not improbable that it’s because of problems like these that have been in the public eye for a while; perhaps they’ve reached their height now and can’t be digested again. They most likely responded.
“I’m not sure if the resignation could have been voluntary, but I could be wrong. I probably think that maybe the pressure of other colleagues of theirs forced them to tender their resignation at some point.”
