Former lawmaker who represented Adamawa north at the national assembly, Senator Ishaku Abbo, has linked the leadership crisis rocking the African Democratic Congress (ADC) to betrayal, internal disagreements, and external interference.
The crisis got out of hand on Wednesday when the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) de-recognised factions led by David Mark and Nafiu Bala.
In a statement issued by Mohammed Haruna, INEC’s commissioner for information and voter education, the commission said it would refrain from engaging either faction, citing the March 12 judgement of the court of appeal.
The commission added that it would not attend meetings, congresses, or conventions of the groups pending the determination of a case before the federal high court.
While reacting to the development on Saturday, Abbo said the crisis began after Bala and the national working committee (NWC) resigned to allow a new leadership led by Mark to take over.
“If you check the picture below, the man sitting before me is Nafiu Bala. He was at the Yar’Adua Centre clapping and cheering as David Mark and Rauf Aregbesola took over as national chairman and secretary respectively,” Abbo said.
According to him, an agreement was reached to allocate party positions across geopolitical zones to accommodate members of the legacy structure.
“The agreement made with the legacy party was to cede certain positions to them from each geopolitical zone so that they can be part of the larger ADC,” he said.
He said it was agreed that Bala would be appointed national vice-chairman for the north-east, a role he described as lower than his former position as deputy national chairman.
Abbo alleged that the Mark-led leadership reneged on the agreement.
“During the formation of the David Mark-led NWC, the new leadership reneged on the earlier agreement to make Bala national vice chairman northeast and instead installed Babachir David Lawal in the position,” he said.
Abbo further claimed that Bala rejected an alternative offer of zonal financial secretary.
“At this point, he started plotting how to bring the whole roof down,” Abbo said.
The senator alleged that unnamed political actors, including a serving governor and a former minister, sponsored legal actions against the party.
The lawmaker urged Bala to withdraw the case in court and work towards unity in the party.
He also called on INEC to reverse its decision, warning of consequences if the situation persists.
