The Chairman of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) in Adamawa State, Shehu Yohanna, has described former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and a former Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Babachir Lawal, as “ghost members” of the party.
Yohanna, who made the allegation in an exclusive interview in Yola on Monday, challenged both political figures to publicly collect their ADC membership cards if they truly belong to the party.
He accused the duo of circulating fake documents and lists of purported ADC transitional committee members on social media.
“I contacted our Acting National Chairman, Senator David Mark, and Acting Secretary, Rauf Aregbesola, and both confirmed they were not aware of the two lists being shared by Atiku Abubakar and Babachir Lawal. Those lists contain fake names and titles,” Yohanna said.
The ADC chairman further disclosed that no registered member of the party had declared interest in contesting the governorship position, adding that the circulated lists falsely allocated positions to individuals who are not members of the ADC.
“There is no ADC member who has declared for governorship. The names appearing on those lists are not from our party,” he added.
Reacting to the allegation, Babachir Lawal dismissed Yohanna’s claims as “frivolous,” describing the state chairman’s comments as baseless.
“When he takes ogbo (a local drink), he says anything he likes,” Lawal said. “There is no law in ADC that says you must register in your ward. Members can register online or in their wards.”
Lawal maintained that the ongoing leadership restructuring in the Adamawa ADC was legitimate and unstoppable.
“He is only afraid of his shadow. He cannot stop the new changes and development in Adamawa ADC,” he added.
Recall that Atiku had delayed collecting his ADC membership card despite earlier identifying with the party following his resignation from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
According to the Adamawa ADC leadership, a ceremony to present Atiku’s membership card was initially scheduled for August 6 but was later postponed indefinitely without any explanation from his camp.
