ADC in fresh crisis as Kano chairman disowns caretaker committee

The Kano State chapter of the African Democratic Congress, ADC, has been thrown into a fresh leadership crisis after its state chairman, Musa Ungogo, rejected claims that the party’s executive committee had been dissolved.

Ungogo dismissed the reported dissolution as false and unconstitutional, insisting that no such decision had been communicated to the Kano leadership by the party’s national body.

He spoke on Monday while reacting to an earlier press conference addressed in Kano by the ADC Deputy National Chairman, North-West, Hajiya Najaatu Mohammed.

Najaatu had announced the dissolution of the Kano State executive and the setting up of a caretaker committee headed by Alhaji Umar Bala.

But Ungogo said the announcement had no constitutional backing and questioned why Kano was being singled out.

“There is no truth in the claim that the Kano State executive has been dissolved. No such decision has been communicated to us by the party’s national leadership,” he said.

He argued that if the ADC intended to dissolve state executives, the decision would not be limited to Kano alone.

“There is no similar action taken in any other state. So why Kano? The claim is unfounded and does not follow the party’s constitutional procedures,” Ungogo added.

The Kano chairman maintained that the existing state executive remained the authentic leadership of the party and would continue to perform its duties until a lawful directive was issued by the appropriate organs of the ADC.

Najaatu, however, had earlier said the dissolution was carried out in line with the party’s constitution, the Electoral Act and the need to preserve unity, continuity and constitutional integrity in the Kano chapter.

She said the national leadership had appointed Alhaji Umar Bala as chairman of the caretaker committee, with Isma’il Musa as secretary.

Najaatu also urged party members in Kano to support the transitional arrangement, saying the move should not be seen as a judgment on the loyalty or contributions of members who had worked for the party in the state.

The conflicting positions have now thrown the Kano ADC into uncertainty, with the state executive and the newly announced caretaker committee both laying claim to the party’s leadership structure.