Abuja—Erstwhile National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Abdullahi Adamu, has started evacuating his personal belongings from his office at the party’s national secretariat, in confirmation of his resignation, Sun newspaper reports.
There was mild drama at the party’s secretariat around 12 pm when the National Secretary, Iyiola Omisore, hurriedly left after he was denied entry into the ongoing National Working Committee (NWC) meeting on arrival to the Secretariat.
Approached to comment on the development on his way out of the secretariat, Omisore simply told newsmen that he was only going out to meet the National Chairman, Adamu, to know why he was conspicuously absent.
Painting a picture of what is currently transpiring at the secretariat, reliable security personnel told Daily Sun that the party’s Chief Security Officer (CSO) was earlier directed to deny Omisore entry into the secretariat, but he pleaded with the national leadership to allow him since he was already very close.
“The appeal from the CSO to the NWC members to allow Omisore entry into the complex was granted, but they however could not permit his entry into his office and even the meeting room. But on entry, he read the situation and decided to disappear from the Secretariat entirely.
“He promised to come back but from the look of things, he just used that excuse of going to see why the national chairman was absent to disappear from the secretariat,” the security source at the party’s headquarters explained.
Interestingly, the national chairman further confirmed his resignation when he ordered his personal staff to evacuate his personal belongings from his office.
As of 1.30 pm, his staff were seen evaluating such belongings as ablution materials, and picture portraits, among others. Earlier before then, his large portrait pictures were removed from his office and conference halls and replaced with that of his deputy, Abubakar Kyari.
Meanwhile, a member of NWC and Deputy National Organising Secretary, Nze Duru, has confirmed that the erstwhile national chairman has resigned from his position.
The party chieftain stressed that he expected Omisore to tender his resignation for the sake of the party, adding that though he could not confirm if Adamu would be at the meeting, the process leading to the transition was ongoing.
He stated: “One can confirm, yes, credible information that the chairman of the party has stepped down as the chairman of the party and meetings are currently ongoing.
“I do not have the information if the secretary has resigned. There is an expectation that he should and I also believe that being a seasoned politician who has played at the highest level, he will always act in the interest of the party.
“And to also assure Nigerians that APC is a very strong party built on a very strong foundation with a credible system and leadership to continue to transition to the next phase in the life of the party.
“We are not expecting a caretaker committee and I did make the point that meetings are going on across all the caucuses of the party, the various leadership in the party. We know that our constitution has provided adequately, a transition process in the leadership of the party.
“The Deputy National Chairman, North will assume in an acting capacity the position of the chairman. It is also expected that the office of the secretary of the party will go across the other divide.
“And to also assure Nigerians that APC is a very strong party built on a very strong foundation with credible system and leadership to continue to transition to the next phase in the life of the party,” he said.