‘Adamu wanted to impose Lawan as APC presidential candidate’ —Lukman

National Vice Chairman (North-West), of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Salihu Lukman, said the “greatest sin” that swept aside the erstwhile National Chairman of the party, Senator Abdullahi Adamu was his unilateral decision to impose former Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, as the party’s presidential candidate prior to the 2023 election.

Lukman who has had a running battle with Adamu and the leadership of the party, said in a statement on Sunday that the level of impunity under Adamu, reached its height when he tried to foist Lawan on the party as well as freezing statutory organs of the party.

Lukman said the powers Adamu wielded had made the National Working Committee (NWC) of the party to become lame ducks who could not call him to order.

“After winning the campaign to get the caretaker committee organize a national convention, which produced the current NWC, led by Senator Abdullahi Adamu, in no time the party was returned to the old mode of business as usual where statutory organs of the party were frozen,” Lukman said.

Read also: Lukman writes APC governors, warns against injustice in choice of Adamu’s successor

”No meetings of party organs were taking place and the NWC became practically an observer whereby the National Chairman and National Secretary basically usurped the powers of all organs of the party.

“The height of it was when the National Chairman attempted to impose Senator Ahmad Lawan as the 2023 presidential candidate of the party.

“Progressive Governors and many members of the NWC had to rise to the occasion and check his excesses, which produced President Bola Tinubu as the candidate of the party for 2023 elections. The rest, as is often said, is now history.

“However, we continue to move from one unhealthy situation to another during both the 2023 electioneering campaigns and the process of negotiations to produce leaders of the National Assembly after the elections.

”It was as if the party under the leadership of Senator Adamu was either contesting the authority of President Tinubu or at the least working at cross purposes,” he added.

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