The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, has declared its position on the leadership tussle in the Adamawa State chapter of the African Democratic Congress, ADC, affirming Shehu Yohanna as the authentic chairman.
The commission articulated its perspective in response to a Freedom of Information, FoI, request forwarded to it by the legal firm A.A. Jatau & Co, seeking clarification regarding the legitimate leadership of the party in the state.
Replying to the FoI request, the Legal Services Department of the commission traced Shehu Yohanna’s emergence as the Adamawa ADC chairman and concluded that he was validly chosen.
“On 17th Jan, 2024, the commission’s headquarters received a letter signed by the national chairman and secretary of the party which forwarded the names of five interim/acting chairmen for some states, Adamawa State included. The letter indicated that Yohanna Shehu is the chairman of the party for the state,” INEC stated.
ADC in Adamawa State has been battling a leadership crisis, with Shehu Yohanna and another individual, Mohammed Mustapha, both claiming to be the party’s chair.
The dispute over the party’s leadership intensified in the last two weeks when high-profile indigenes of Adamawa State began to adopt the party as their preferred platform.
Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar; the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC, in 2023, Aishatu Ahmed Binani; and the state governor under the APC from 2015 to 2019, Senator Jibrilla Bindow, are among the top politicians from the state who have recently joined the party.
