Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, former Secretary to the Government of the Federation Babachir Lawal, and other high-profile members of the African Democratic Congress have been given a deadline by the party to register in their respective wards by the end of the year or risk losing their membership status.
Shehu Yohanna, the Adamawa State Chairman of the ADC, stated in an exclusive interview that the party has released its membership list and emphasised that only individuals with current membership cards would be recognised.
Babachir should register in his ward in Hong Local Government, while Atiku Abubakar should register in his ward in Jada Local Government. They may only be regarded as valid party members in this manner,” Yohanna stated.
“You cannot be taking decisions for a party you are not constitutionally a member of. All of you should register for the greatness of our party.
Holding a national leadership position in the party without being a registered member is against the law. That makes a caricature of the party,” he declared.
Last Thursday, the National Publicity Secretary of the ADC, Bolaji Abdullahi, repeated the caucus’ resolution that all coalition members quit from their present parties and register completely with the ADC—a directive dismissed as unimportant by both the APC and PDP.
Last month, Atiku’s highly anticipated membership registration, which was originally planned for August in his hometown of Jada, was abruptly and inexplicably cancelled.
The former vice president is reportedly considering his chances of winning the ADC’s presidential ticket, especially given the growing power of Peter Obi’s political movement within the party. Yohanna said that the opposition Peoples Democratic Party and the ruling All Progressives Congress would not be able to defeat the ADC in the general elections of 2027, adding that the ADC has powerful political figures and is ready to overthrow the APC administration.
“The unfriendly policies of the present government have paved the way for our party to take over and reposition the country for authentic democracy,” he said, referring to the reported crisis in the party’s Adamawa chapter.
According to the party constitution, my term ends in 2026, so no one can remove me from office. He stated that the ADC is a political party that was registered by former President Olusegun Obasanjo and is not the property of any individual.
He added that the ADC governorship candidates had some of the strongest credentials in Adamawa, if not all of Nigeria.
