Ibekimi Oriamaja Reports
Senator Abdullahi Adamu, National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), has denied reports that his friends and allies have replaced six suspended departmental directors at the party’s secretariat.
According to Track News, Adamu ordered six directors, including Elder Anietie Offong (Welfare), Bartholomew I. Ugwoke (Research), Abubakar Suleiman (Finance), Dr Suleiman Abubakar (Administration), Salisu Dambatta (Publicity), and Dare Oketade, Legal Head, to go on ‘compulsory annual leave’ on April 22.
He later formed an investigative panel led by an ex-Governor of Jigawa State, Ali Saad Birnin Kudu, to look into the defunct Caretaker/Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee’s handing-over notes.
The committee’s recommendations compelled Adamu to suspend the departmental directors and the head of legal services indefinitely.
On Thursday, Adamu denied replacing the directors with his cronies while speaking to journalists at the party’s headquarters in Abuja.
While claiming that the move was necessary to sanitize the system, the APC chairman revealed that the ruling party was in disarray when he took over.
“That report is false,” he stated. The truth is, if you go through the secretariat, you won’t find a single person who is my blood relative since we arrived. No one, whether immediate or extended family.
“It’s a fallacy” (that I have my people working here). Actually, we came here to reorganize and reconstitute the party. You don’t see the party in disarray and turn a blind eye because you want to be decent and not offend anyone.”
Awful Allergy
Adamu described his encounter with a cesspool of corruption, tardy officials, and a register containing over 200 names, including those of ghost workers.
The APC chairman swore that such anomalies were not in his DNA, emphasizing that his “DNA has terrible allergy for that.”
“We came and found the party where people are fixing all kinds of things,” he explained. We had a bill for N7.7 billion just to settle legal matters. We discovered that everyone here was like me, on his own. There is no control, no system, and no due process. Everyone was doing what he wanted. You will allow such people only because you do not want to be accused of anything.
“I have a terrible allergy to that in my DNA.” I’m sure most, if not all, of my NWC colleagues agree. Of course, every change situation has a victim, and ours is no exception. And we made no use of bias or prejudice. The main thing is the party’s interest.’
“Recently, we attempted to implement table payment. If you are a member of this chapel, you are aware that we do not employ 200 people. However, if you look at the payroll, we have over 200 employees. Who exactly are they? How did they arrive at their bill? What do they do for us? Where are their appointment letters? What are their service conditions?
“You don’t because you’re afraid of negative media attention.” People went to the market square and said they were arranging salaries but couldn’t pay them. That is far from the case. When we arrived, we met and paid some arrears. I have no reservations about this. Everything we did was in good faith.”
