The APC chairman was advised to throw in the towel by Hope Uzodinma, the governor of Imo state and chairman of the Progressive Governors Forum (PGF).

Iyiola Omisore, the APC national secretary, allegedly became incommunicado upon getting wind of the development.

Party sources told NewMailNG that Adamu and Omisore were to face a vote of no confidence by NWC members on Monday afternoon following which they would be sacked by the national executive committee (NEC), chaired by Tinubu, on Wednesday.

There has been a cold war between Tinubu and Adamu since the former governor of Nasarawa state was elected party chairman in March 2022.

But the “final straw”, according to insiders, was Adamu’s failure to account for the N32 billion raised by the party from the sale of forms for the 2023 general election.

“Only N7 billion is left in the account as we speak,” an NWC member told TheCable.

“Adamu and Omisore claimed the account has been audited, but we are not aware of when the auditors were appointed. How can NWC not be aware of the appointment? It is part of our responsibilities to appoint auditors.”

Sensing the move to remove him, Adamu had reportedly sought the support of the chairmen of the state chapters of the party but received a cold shoulder.

“By the APC constitution, the proceeds were supposed to be shared with the zonal, state and ward levels of the party, and they were not in the know. So there was no way they were going to support him,” another party insider told our correspondent.

ADAMU VS TINUBU: THE RETURN LEG

Before the N32 billion question became a bone of contention, Adamu’s exit appeared imminent.

While Tinubu supported Tanko Al Makura, also a former governor of Nasarawa state, for the position of national chairman, party leaders loyal to former President Muhammadu Buhari rooted for Adamu.

This was thought to be the first move to stop Tinubu from winning the party’s presidential ticket.

Ahead of the APC presidential primary in June 2022, Tinubu complained bitterly that he was being betrayed despite the fact that a gentleman’s agreement was sealed in 2015 for him to succeed Buhari.

His outburst, popularly known as “emi l’okan” (“it’s my turn”), enraged Adamu who threatened that the party would “discipline” him.

In the week of the primary, Adamu informed NWC members that Ahmad Lawan, then senate president, was Buhari’s preferred presidential candidate.

The move was met with protests and condemnation from some quarters, but he stood his ground.

Lawan, a latecomer to the race, lost the primary, coming last with 38 votes against Tinubu’s 371.

Tinubu would go on to lose the presidential election in Nasarawa state, where Adamu was governor from 1999 to 2007.

“It was inevitable that Adamu would bite the dust,” the NWC member told TheCable.

“When the 10th national assembly was about to be inaugurated, it was the APC leadership that was supposed to work behind the scene for the leadership election. Adamu and Omisore were aloof. In fact, it was a known fact that Adamu was supporting Abdulaziz Yari.

“As if that was not enough, when the committee positions were announced, Adamu openly dissociated himself from the list. He had it coming.”

TheCable understands that when the issue of the N32 billion was presented to Tinubu, he gave the go-ahead for the party to remove him “legally”.

Uzodinma approached Adamu on Sunday and asked him to do the “needful” but he was unable to reach Omisore.

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The governor stated this during a peace meeting between the Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim Idris and stakeholders from Benue and Nasarawa States.

The Benue State delegation was led by the Deputy Governor of the state, Engr. Benson Abounu, while the Nasarawa delegation was led by the Special Adviser to the Governor on Security Matters, Dr. Muhammad Adeka.

It was the second meeting put together by the IGP as part of measures to end the crisis in both states.

The first meeting was scheduled for January 15 but was stalled due to the absence of governors of both states.

Speaking at the reconciliation meeting, Al-Makura, who was represented by Dr. Adeka, said: “I don’t want people to leave here with the notion that the government or the people of both states are at war because of the word “peace and reconciliation” that was used to describe the meeting.

“Nasarawa State does not have any problem of any kind with the people of Benue State.”

The governor also said he was willing to make available to Benue State its conflict resolution mechanism.

He added: “We have our conflict resolution mechanism which has helped our state for long and we are here willingly to make it available to our counterparts in Benue State to resolve whatever skirmishes that must have taken place in the past few months.”

“The only thing that concerns us is the ripple effect of the open grazing prohibition law which the government and people of Nasarawa State are not in a position to contradict what the people of Benue want.

“We are not against the law but the ripple effect has affected us severely. But it is the policy of the government of Nasarawa State not to chase the people away. All those running away from the anti-grazing law, being Nigerians, our government has done everything to accommodate them.”

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The suspect while posing as a “Private investigator from the Villa“ had approached the wife of the governor with a proposition to help stop a purported investigation of two accounts belonging to the governor, by the EFCC.

He claimed he came across information regarding the two accounts that had been under investigation since 2011 and also intercepted mails and gotten wind of investigation report purportedly sent to First Bank by the EFCC.

The suspect had requested for N8 million but was offered N6 million. Suspicious about the proposal, the governor’s family contacted the Commission and were asked to play along with the suspect. The suspect was arrested in a sting operation after he collected marked N2 million.

The suspect is presently in custody and would be charged to court as soon as investigation is concluded.

In a related development, a serving Police Officer, Mohammed Nuhu Maina, has been arrested for impersonation. The suspect who claimed to be Assistant Superintendent of Police, ASP, attached to the Commission, had approached his victim with offer to help him recover his money, N21m; which is subject of investigation by the EFCC.

Maina allegedly collected several sums of money from his victim before he became suspicious.

The suspect called the victim on December 21, 2017 and demanded for more money.

The victim immediately contacted the EFCC and he was accompanied by operatives of the Commission who tracked Maina and arrested him opposite Rockview Hotel, close to the EFCC head office in Wuse 2, Abuja.

In the course of arrest, Maina was found with EFCC Vehicle Auction Certificates, EFCC Stickers, EFCC writing pads, amongst others.

Maina is currently in custody, assisting the investigation.

The EFCC has consistently warned members of the public to be wary of impostors who go about extorting unsuspecting members of the public.

The Commission again implored the public to report any solicitation for gratification either by genuine or fake EFCC operatives to the nearest office of the Commission or police station.

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Oyegun, who addressed a rally in Lokoja to drum support for the APC governorship candidate, Abubakar Audu, said the election was an opportunity for the people to end years of bad governance in the state.

The APC national chairman, who was accompanied to the rally by national officers of the party, three governors and two deputy governors, called on the people to embrace change and “dump the bad past.”

“The state is still stuck in the failed promises of transformation,” Oyegun said and stressed that it was time for Kogi people to vote wisely in order to protect the future of their children.

Oyegun said the APC is targeting 80 percent of the votes during the governorship election, pledging that it would bring about total change in the lives of the people.

In his remarks, Audu promised to work for the progress and development of the state, saying that he was on a rescue mission to save the state from total collapse.

The governorship candidate promised to adhere to the principle of rotation by being the first governor to give effect to the arrangement.

Audu, who was flanked by his deputy, James Faleke promised to settle all outstanding workers salaries and allowances, and ensure justice and equity in the distribution of projects.

Governors Rochas Okorocha, Tanko Al- Makura, Samuel Ortom and Sen. Rabiu Kwankwaso also addressed the rally.

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The incumbent, Tanko Al-Makura, won the election with 309,746. Al-Makura defeated the candidates of the All Progressives Grand Alliance, Labaran Maku, and that of the Peoples Democratic Party, Dr. Kanu Agabi.

While Maku scored 178,983 votes, Agabi polled 119,782 votes.

Meanwhile, APC has snatched victory from the Peoples Democratic Party in Jigawa State.

The APC emerged winner with 648,045 votes, thus throwing up its candidate, Badaru Abubakar, as the governor-elect.

Abubakar defeated PDP’s Aminu Ibrahim Ringim, who polled 479,447 votes.

The full results from Nasarawa:

Keana APC 9,505 PDP 4,432 APGA 3,231

Keffi APC 23,308 PDP 6,243 APGA4,174

Wamba APC 14,872 PDP 5,043 APGA 2,842

Akwanga APC 18,234 PDP 6,268 APGA 5,427

Karu APC 23,336 PDP 10300 APGA 12665

Kokona APC 25,419 PDP 9,701 APGA 12864

Nasarawa Eggon APC 7,804 PDP 5,837 APGA 49,285

Obi APC 25,153 PDP 10422 APGA 15,662

Nasarawa APC 43,842 PDP 21,405 APGA 11,386

Toto APC 21,915 PDP 8,788 APGA 5,084

Awe APC 17,364 PDP 9592 APGA 1,9592

Doma APC 15,356 PDP 10,286 APGA 7733

Lafia APC 63,638 PDP 11,465 APGA 46652

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Sources said that the fight broke out on Tuesday when the PDP youths were accompanying a member of the state House of Assembly, Sidi Bako, to his country home at Obi town.

The PDP youths, it was gathered, decided to accompany the lawmaker because of the fear that he might be attacked by the APC youths.

It was also learnt that the fight ensued when an Eggon man was allegedly cut with a machete by Gwandara youths who converged on Obi town waiting to attack Bako.

An eyewitness said that the Eggon man, who almost lost one of his hands, went to mobilize his kinsmen, who allegedly carried out a reprisal attack on the Gwandara people at their farmland and killed four of them.

It was learnt that the people of Dedere, who are of Gwandara extraction, were not happy with Bako because he is one of the 20 PDP lawmakers pushing for Al-Makura’s impeachment.

On the contrary, the Eggon people are strongly supporting the lawmaker’s involvement in the impeachment plot against Al-Makura.

When contacted the Police Public Relations Officer in the state, Ismaila Numan, an Assistant Superintended of Police, said that the command had so far recovered four corpses.

Numan added that the clash was politically motivated and that the police had already restored normalcy to the area, stressing that those found guilty would be brought to face the full wroth of the law.

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The state chief judge, had on Friday last week set up a seven-man panel to probe the governor over the allegations leveled against him of gross misconduct of finical impropriety and breached of oath of office by the state House of Assembly.

The Senior Special Adviser on Public Affairs, Abdulhamid Kwarra said, “The governor will certainly appear before them (the panel) and after that we will go to the press and address them.”

When asked whether he knows the full names of members of the legal team that would defend the governor, he said he did not know their names, even as he said that the venue and when the panel would seat had yet to be made known to the governor.

A member of the state House of Assembly, Mohammed Okpede (Doma North) commented on a statement by the governor’s aide that the lawmakers would fail in their bid to impeach the governor.

“As far as we are concerned, we are working with the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and we are on our way to reach there.”

On the earlier claim by the governor that he was not given the impeachment notice, he asked, “What made him to employ the service of SANs to defend him before the seven-man panel?”

Okpede denied that the lawmakers had been bribed by the governor to step down their plan to impeach him, adding that the lawmakers did not meet President Goodluck Jonathan on the impeachment move against the governor.

Okpede further said that if the President waded into the matter, the lawmakers would tell him that it was a purely constitutional matter and that he would be told that he was encouraging corruption if he intervenes.

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Al-Makura had met with the President over the weekend in his bid to stop his removal from office.

The members of the Assembly, who met with Jonathan on Thursday, were led by their Speaker, Musa Muhammed and the Deputy National Chairman, South, of the Peoples Democratic Party, Uche Secondus, also attended the meeting.

The National Chairman, Adamu Muazu, is currently on lesser Hajj in Saudi Arabia.

Muhammed however told State House correspondents at the end of the parley that the meeting was a private one and when pressed further to disclose whether the meeting has changed the situation in the state, the Speaker said he did not have the mandate of the Assembly to speak with journalists.

He said only the Chairman of the House Committee on Information was mandated to speak to journalists.

“It is a private visit. We are here to see the President on a private visit. I do not have the mandate of the assembly to address the press. We have the Chairman of the House Committee on Information, who we have agreed should be talking on our behalf,” he said.

When asked whether the Assembly was under pressure from the Presidency or any other quarters to drop the impeachment process, Muhammed asked, “Who is putting pressure on who?”

Secondus, who came out of the President’s office a few minutes after the lawmakers, claimed he did not come with them, claiming that he arrived the Presidential Villa before them.

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The governor spoke through his Senior Special Assistant on Public Affairs, Abdulhamid Yakubu Kwarra said: “The Federal Government and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) are on a mission to kill all opposition parties before 2015 election in a desperate move to win election in 2015.

“With the rising political profile of APC, the chances of PDP and President Jonathan in 2015 is getting slimmer each day, it is obvious PDP or President Jonathan has no chance at all, hence they have launched a persecution of the major opposition party APC to achieve their aims.

“They are now instigating Members of the Nasarawa State House of Assembly to impeach Governor Tanko Al-Makura, just as they did in Adamawa State.

“But, I want to assure them, they will not succeed in the case of Nasarawa State because the people who elected Al-Makura are going to come out to resist this impunity. Nigerians should know that this is the ninth impeachment move on Governor Al-Makura. They have tried it eight other times, but this is the first time they are making move to serve impeachment notice on the governor.

“If the move is borne out of malice, it will definitely fail, but if it is based on genuine cause, that is only way it will succeed. But in doing so, the law makers should make sure they do not abuse the procedures. What we saw happened in Adamawa State in the name of impeachment will not stand. I see the judiciary reversing the whole thing because it was done in clear abuse of legal procedures.”

Kwarra, who is former Majority Leader of Nasarawa State House of Assembly, said that “The relationship between the Executive and the legislature in Nasararwa State has been mutual in the last three years,” stressing that the current impeachment move is based on external factor; “it is all about 2015 election. PDP is just desperate to take Nasarawa State from the grip of APC.”

“The authority in Abuja wants it by all means and at all cost. They are threatened by the formidable opposition party in this country and they are doing everything to retain power, despite the fact that they are a collateral failure with all the challenges and parts of their master plan is to destabilise APC control states.

“What PDP is doing amounts to a declaration of the war on the people of Nigeria and they way they are going about it, the thing may consume all of us if care is not taken,” he said.

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The Nasarawa State House of Assembly has asked the public to disregard rumours that the legislature planned to impeach the state governor, Tanko Al-Makura.

The Speaker of the House, Musa Ahmed who stated this in Keffi, also denied holding any discussion with President Goodluck Jonathan or any other person over the impeachment plot.

“I want to make it clear that the Assembly had not in any quarter discuss with any person, even President Gooluck Jonathan, that the House will impeach Gov. Al-Makura.

“The House must have a reason if it must impeach the governor. What is the reason; can those who carry such false rumours come out and proof their allegation on such impeachment. People should stop that rumour mongering.

“Such acts are capable of causing disharmony, disaffection, disunity as well as slow down the rate of the progress of the state and the country at large.

“The House did not had any discussion with President Jonathan or with any other person in the country to impeach Gov. Tanko Al-Makura,” Ahmed said.

He, therefore, urged the public to discountenance such impeachment information as it was misleading and mischievous.

The Speaker also enjoined journalists to always cross check facts and balance their reports before publication in the interest of peace, unity, progress and development of the country.

Ahmed wondered how the matter was discussed at the Nigeria Governors’ Forum and who presented the matter to the forum that the Assembly wanted to impeach the governor.

The Speaker also flayed the Lagos State House of Assembly, which he said went to press over the speculation of impeachment without confirming the matter from its Nasarawa State counterpart.

He described the allegation against the house as “unfortunate, barbaric, uncalled for and an attempt to tarnish our (lawmakers) good image”.

Ahmed said, “It is unfortunate that some people, who don’t wish the state well and who don’t want to see the progress of the Assembly, are busy carrying false rumours against the legislature that the House want to impeach Gov. Al-Makura.”

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