A fresh crisis has erupted within the Adamawa State chapter of the recently revived African Democratic Congress (ADC), as the party’s interim chairman, Comrade Shehu Yohanna, has accused former Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Mr. Babachir Lawal, of acting as a political mole planted by the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
Speaking to Arewa PUNCH via phone from his hotel in Abuja on Thursday, Yohanna claimed Lawal’s involvement in the ADC is part of a calculated APC strategy to destabilize the party. “With Lawal around, ADC cannot make any meaningful progress,” Yohanna stated.
Responding from his Abuja residence, Lawal dismissed the accusation, describing it as a deflection. “Yohanna is only running from his own shadow. He is merely an interim chairman.
He resigned from the party to contest the 2023 House of Representatives election, so he lacks any legitimate claim to the chairmanship,” Lawal argued.
Yohanna further alleged that Lawal is attempting to replace him with a loyalist, Suleiman Umana, because he refused to support Lawal’s “private political agenda.”
“Lawal is working to impose his tribesman on the party, but that plan will fail. I’ve been in politics since my secondary school days—I’m no rookie,” Yohanna said confidently.
He also warned former Vice President Atiku Abubakar to be wary of Lawal’s “antics,” accusing the former SGF of plotting to derail Atiku’s 2027 presidential ambitions on behalf of the APC.
Yohanna emphasized that only a properly convened party congress, with accredited delegates, could remove him from office—not political scheming.
He also revealed that Atiku would formally collect his ADC membership card on August 6 in his hometown, Jada Local Government Area.
In response, Lawal maintained that Yohanna lacks constitutional legitimacy. “He was never elected in any congress. Let him present the results of the congress that supposedly elected him,” Lawal challenged. “Claiming I work for the APC or President Tinubu is laughable. Everyone who knows me knows I will never support the APC.”
Lawal clarified that during the Buhari administration, his support was strictly for Buhari as a person, not the APC. “I never worked for any other APC candidate—not even the Adamawa State governorship candidate. So why would I support Tinubu or the APC now?”
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