Ibrahim Bilal Maintains Being The APC Chairman in Adamawa

Alhaji Ibrahim Bilal has declared he will stay in office after being ousted as the All Progressives Congress (APC) chairman in Adamawa by the State Executive Committee on Monday.

Acting on a petition signed by 25 of the party’s 36 executive committee members, the SEC voted a vote of no confidence in Bilal and appointed his deputy Samaila Tidawus as the new chairman, citing acts of corruption and Bilal’s lack of ability.

Bilal, however, denied the alleged dismissal and said that the SEC lacked the authority to carry out the action.

In a statement, Ibrahim Bilal asserted that he was still the state chairman of the APC and denounced the action taken against him as the “rapacious actions” of a small group of individuals intent on throwing a healthy party into disarray.

He said: [quotation] “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. ” [/quotation]

Senator Ishaku Abbo, who represents Adamawa North, and many other well-known party members have denounced Ibrahim Bilal’s “sacking,” which Bilal said is a sign of good things to come.

In a statement released on Monday night, Abbo called the removal of Bilal “an illegal joke that won’t stand.”