A fresh political storm has hit the African Democratic Congress (ADC) in Adamawa State, with former Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) Babachir Lawal accusing former Vice President Atiku Abubakar of orchestrating a plot to replace the party’s elected governorship candidate, Suleiman Omar, with Alhaji Tukur Modibbo.
Reacting to the party’s internal row during a telephone interview on Wednesday night, Lawal alleged that Atiku pushed for the swap after Omar had already won the primary election. Warning Nigerians against backing Atiku in the 2027 presidential race, the former SGF claimed the ex-vice president’s political motives are rooted in ethnic considerations.
“Atiku Abubakar wants to replace Suleiman Omar as the governorship candidate of the African Democratic Congress in Adamawa State with Alhaji Tukur Modibbo,” Lawal stated, adding that Modibbo was being brought in to displace the candidate legitimately chosen at the primaries.
Atiku, however, swiftly dismissed the claims as false and baseless.
In a Thursday statement issued by his media aide, Phrank Shaibu, the former vice president denied any involvement in the alleged substitution plot. Describing the accusations as “the product of the fertile imagination of those determined to create unnecessary tension,” Shaibu insisted that Atiku never met, directed, or discussed replacing the party’s nominee.
According to the statement, critics uncomfortable with the ADC’s growing unity fabricated the claims to divide the party.