Adramatic scene broke out amongst Bauchi politicians of the ruling APC after education minister Adamu Adamu reportedly imposed new state executive members over the speakerphone from his sickbed, according to people informed about the matter.
Mr Adamu, who was appointed minister since 2015, has been ill and unable to perform the functions of his office for several months.
He has travelled frequently to Germany, Belgium, amongst other European countries, in search of a sustainable treatment for an undisclosed ailment, Peoples Gazette learnt.
But on Thursday, the minister called a meeting of party leaders from his home Bauchi State to discuss the distribution of positions ahead of the party’s congresses next week. The meeting was held at 17 Euphrates Crescent, Wuse 2, Abuja, and lasted into the early hours of Friday, according to one of the party leaders who attended.
Mr Adamu was said to have failed to attend the meeting, even though the address is a guest house owned by him, because of his fragile health. But Yakubu Dogara, former House Speaker, was asked to coordinate the meeting, a source said.
When the meeting started, Mr Dogara called Mr Adamu over the telephone and switched to speakerphone to allow all attendees to hear the conversation. It was during the call that Mr Adamu told the meeting that he had already identified a list of individuals who would lead the Bauchi chapter of the All Progressives Congress.
Mr Adamu announced Babayo Aliyu as the next chairman; Mohammed Hassan as deputy chairman; Abbas Jamaare as state secretary; Abdulmumuni Kundak as zonal chairman of the south senatorial zone; Ibrahim Ago as youth leader; and Abdulkadir Gyan Gyan as state organising secretary.
Mr Adamu’s action sparked immediate commotion, with members protesting the damage any imposition of executives could wreak on the party’s image and chances at the next general elections.
In attendance were Mr Dogara, Senator Adamu Bulkachuwa, ex-governor Isa Yuguda, Nigerian Ambassador to Germany Yusuf Tuggar and his brother Usman Tuggar.
All the APC senators and House members from Bauchi were present at the meeting. Mr Adamu is deemed the party’s leader in Bauchi because he’s a minister and the governor is of the Peoples Democratic Party.
“It is unbelievable that the same Adamu Adamu that wrote articles condemning corruption and excessive display of power for many years has now become a monster himself,” a source said under anonymity to avoid being sanctioned by the party. “We are going to take this matter to court if necessary because it is not going to stand.”
A spokesman for Mr Dogara said he was not aware of the role of his principal at the meeting. Mr Adamu did not return a request seeking comments about his reported imposition of party executives.
The Bauchi affair followed similar charges of imposition in Lagos, Kwara, Osun and other state chapters of the ruling party, with some members insisting that congresses should hold to strengthen internal democracy within political parties. Main opposition PDP has been enmeshed in a similar crisis ahead of its congresses this weekend.
Mr Adamu, 67, graduated as an accountant but joined politics later and caucused with Muhammadu Buhari. He wrote columns in leading newspapers of northern Nigeria to deliver biting criticism of political leaders. In 2015, his longstanding friendship with Mr Buhari earned him a position on the cabinet as the education minister.
His tenure at the ministry has seen repeated strikes by university lecturers, leading to further decay in learning infrastructure and standards. He has often defended his position.
