Alhaji Ibrahim Bilal, who was removed on Monday as All Progressives Congress(APC) chairman in Adamawa by a majority of the State Executive Committee, has insisted he remains in office.
Acting on a petition signed by 25 of the 36 exco of the party, SEC citing acts of corruption and lack of capacity against Bilal, passed a vote of no confidence and installed his deputy Samaila Tidawus as the new chairman.
But Bilal dismissed the purported sack, saying SEC lacks the power to carry out the exercise.
Bilal, in a statement, insisted he remained the state chairman of the APC and described the move against him as “rapacious actions” of a few elements bent on plunging a virile party into crisis.”
He said: “It needs restating not to mislead the uninformed that only the National Working Committee of the APC reserves the power in a dispute or crisis to remove an elected chairman.
“While we await the dust to settle on my purported removal as chairman, I am encouraged by the outpouring of Goodwill from party stakeholders who have said that this grave desecration of the rule of law will never be allowed to prevail.
“I want to urge every party member to remain calm as I remain the chairman of the APC in Adamawa and by Allah’s grace will serve out the remainder of my tenure and leading our party to victory come next year’s general election.
“This charade by a few persons who, acting like bandits broke into our serene party Secretariat to do what they did will obviously not stand. We must never allow them truncate the tenet of internal democracy anchored on the rule of law.”
Bilal added that a condemnation of his ‘sack’ by many prominent party men, including Senator Elisha Abbo who represents Adamawa North, is a good omen.
Abbo, in a statement on Monday evening, described Bilal’s removal as an illegal joke that won’t stand.