By Tom Garba, Yola
The African Democratic Congress (ADC) in Adamawa State is fracturing along fault lines of loyalty and ambition, with fiery accusations flying that high-profile defectors are sabotaging the party from within.
In a blistering broadside, National Organizing Secretary (Northeast) Alhaji Umar Bello Jada, affectionately known as “Calculate” has accused Northeast National Vice Chairman Engr. Babachir David Lawal, former Governor Senator Muhammadu Umaru Jibrilla Bindow, and Senator Abdul-Aziz Murtala Nyako of undermining Atiku Abubakar’s leadership by secretly romancing the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and plotting to surrender the party’s structures to Governor Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri.
Jada’s salvo, delivered in an exclusive interview with TGNews amid escalating infighting, paints a picture of betrayal just months after Atiku’s high-profile defection from the PDP ignited a wave of mass crossovers to the ADC in July 2025.
The former Vice President, who donated a prime Yola property as the party’s state secretariat in August, is now portrayed as the unyielding anchor holding the coalition together, yet under siege from “ill-willed” insiders whose agendas clash with the party’s principles.
“It’s unfortunate that Engr. Babachir David Lawal is not doing anything concrete to unite the party in Adamawa,” Jada charged, slamming the ex-Secretary to the Government of the Federation for failing to convene stakeholder meetings.
It’s unfortunate that Engr. Babachir David Lawal is not doing anything concrete to unite the party in Adamawa
Instead, Lawal allegedly unilaterally imposed Rt. Hon. Ibrahim Dasin as caretaker committee chairman—a move Jada claims was a power grab tied to Dasin’s senatorial ambitions in Adamawa Central, where he would remain “under Lawal’s dictates.”
Dasin’s nomination, initially backed by some, was rejected amid whispers of external meddling, Jada said, leveraging the earlier rebuff of Senator Ahmed Barata, a Binani loyalist, as proof of the defectors’ insincerity.
The finger-pointing extends to Bindow and Nyako, whom Jada accused of “playing to the gallery” to tear the ADC apart. “They rejected Barata to block Senator Aishatu Dahiru Binani’s control, but now they’re all loyal to Fintiri’s PDP government,” he alleged.
“Any chance given to them on leadership would automatically hand the party to the governor.” This comes against a backdrop of factional warfare, including a September ultimatum from the state chapter demanding Atiku, Babachir, and others register as full members by year-end or face expulsion; a demand Atiku’s camp dismissed as internal sabotage.
At the epicenter: the contentious caretaker committee slot, where Atiku’s endorsement of Sa’idu Gomchiri, a “politically sinless” figure from Jada’s hometown has become a flashpoint. Jada defended the pick as a unifying force transcending factions, insisting Atiku “cannot be cowed” by dissenters whose sentiments betray the party’s ethos.
“Atiku is in charge at all stages; his decision on Sa’idu is non-negotiable because it’s best for the people,” he declared, even offering to sacrifice his own position if needed to install a Jada loyalist. Gomchiri, once tied to Atiku’s support group, was allegedly pressured into the role after Binani’s camp lobbied via familial ties, only to face underground defection plots from the aggrieved.
The outburst was triggered by an anonymous loyalist’s plea for equitable power-sharing to avert a 2027 meltdown. “The glaring abnormalities will affect all members if not corrected,” the insider warned, echoing broader fears that without balance—especially given Atiku’s Jada roots—the ADC risks imploding before primaries. Jada doubled down, branding the anti-Gomchiri agitators as ticket-hunters dodging internal democracy.
“Whether they like it or not, there must be primaries—no free tickets or mere endorsements,” he thundered. “We know their antics: Bindow decamped alone but still maintains ties with the current Vice President. We can’t trust him with a party chairman role.”
This latest eruption follows a summer of seismic shifts: Atiku’s July 14 resignation from PDP, Binani’s quiet APC exit to join the Atiku-Obi coalition, and Bindow’s gubernatorial posters blanketing Adamawa with 90% of his ex-cabinet in tow. Yet, parallel leadership claims between Comrade Shehu Yohanna and Sheik Arabo have festered since July, prompting national reconciliation bids dismissed as “unauthorized.”
Atiku, who recently pledged to step aside for a younger primary winner, has yet to respond publicly, but allies like Jada, a vocal Atiku activist who won bail in a June defamation suit tied to political mudslinging insist the coalition’s “mega” vision remains intact.
As aggrieved members whisper of fresh defections, Jada’s warnings underscore a stark reality: In Adamawa’s ADC, unity is a battlefield, and Atiku’s dream of a 2027 powerhouse hangs on quelling the very betrayals his defection unleashed. With Fintiri’s PDP eyeing the chaos as an opportunity, the party’s faithful brace for a reckoning primaries or peril.
Read Also: Defection Storm Brews in Adamawa ADC: Atiku’s Inner Circle Splinters Over Unequal Power Grab
That’s shows clearly, they are not ready for the 2027 election