By Ayo Yusuf
The National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Senator Abdullahi Adamu has denied having any rift with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
The embattled chairman who has been criticized for running a ‘one man show’ as he had not been able to call a meeting of the National Executive Council of the party for more than one year said the alleged falling out with the president was a media fabrication.
Senator Adamu told Arise Television on Tuesday that while he supported the presidential aspiration of former Senate President Dr. Ahmed Lawan against Asiwaju Bola Tinubu before the convention, he was able to rally the party to victory after the convention of the party chose Tinubu as the flag bearer.
According to Senator Adamu, the idea of a conflict with the president was, “a soft selling point for you media people. It is true that at the time that I made a presentation to the National Working Committee (NWC), the name of Senator Ahmed Lawan was thrown up.
“That was before the convention. So many things took place between then and the actual date of the convention and you saw what culminated in the convention unanimously. I was there and I led the convention of the party.
“A day after the convention, I took the entire working committee to his (Tinubu’s) house in Asokoro and assured him of our support and said we will stand shoulder to shoulder with him and ensure that the mandate was sold properly to the people of Nigeria. We won the election. Instead of being praised, we are vilified,” he said.
Senator Adamu who said what he deserved is some commendation for leading the party through a presidential election victory said he was entitled to his personal opinion before the convention and his support for Dr. Lawan falls under his fundamental human rights.
He said the record his detractors should look at was how he handled matters once it was clear that Tinubu was the party’s choice and how he managed to rally every party member around him.
Adamu said while he would be willing to disagree with the president on any matter because there’s freedom of speech in the country, his so-called altercation with the president remains a media creation.
The APC chairman contrary to reports that he and the president are not on the same page he currently has a good working relationship with President Tinubu who had always given him his full attention each time they met.
Adamu’s Many Problems
In the last few weeks, the tenure of the Adamu-led exco has faced serious censure over its inability to call for NEC meetings, especially since the last time the APC NEC met in April 2022.
There has been criticisms that contrary to the party’s constitution the exco has transferred its decision-making powers to the National Working Committee of the party.
This development has led some party stalwarts like Salihu Lukman, the national vice chairman(North-west) of the party to take legal action against Messrs Adamu and Omisore.
Mr Lukman who called for their removal charged them with running the party with discretionary power without recourse to the other members of the NWC incontravention of the constitution of the party.
Aside from Mr Lukman, Mr Adamu recently fought the leadership of the National Assembly over the recently constituted principal officers of the two chambers. The chairman had distanced the NWC from the announcements of principal officers by Senate President Godswill Akpabio and Speaker Tajudeen Abbas.
However, senator Adamu has said he was misrepresented about his position on the recently elected principal officers of the national assembly, adding that what the APC had issues with was the manner the communication was handled by the lawmakers.
He said those who have issues against him have always had the opportunity to air their views at their national meetings, explaining that Saliu Lukman, for instance, who has always accused him of running a one-man show, has always attended those meetings.
The APC chairman stated that the decision of Lukman to take the party to court was a grave offense even though he later withdrew his case from court and apologised for his misdemeanour.
