Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Abdullahi Adamu has accused the party’s presidential flag-bearer, Bola Tinubu, of betraying the shared agreement on the appointment of members of the Presidential Campaign Council (PCC). 

In a letter written on behalf of the party’s National Working Committee (NWC), Mr Tinubu was accused of hand-picking members of the PCC without consultation or approval from the NWC.

The party chairman claims that Mr Tinubu’s behaviour demonstrates his lack of clear understanding of the distinct functions and responsibilities of the key organs of the party.

The letter read in part: “Your Excellency will no doubt recall our meetings in my office and also at the NWC Conference Room at the Party’s National Secretariat, on Wednesday, 7th September 2022, during which we discussed the details of the Organogram of the PCC and its composition, as a collaborative project between the two entities.

“Our recollection of those meetings clearly leaves us in no doubt that a breach of agreement has occurred and that a return to the principles of cooperation and respect for each other is required.

“In Your Excellency’s own words, which I take the liberty to quote here, which I also hold dearly, you stated that “there is a burden on everyone’s shoulders towards delivering the elections to the Party and the candidate”. This has been the view of the NWC and myself all along since Your Excellency’s emergence as our Great Party’s Flagbearer.”

While urging Mr Tinubu to respect “established boundaries” and imbibe transparency, Mr Adamu tasked the former Lagos governor to restrain the PCC from further embarking on “solo projects.”

“May I, therefore, point out to Your Excellency, that winning election is a cooperative as well as a collaborative effort, that is done in a transparent and disinterested manner by all parties concerned, by respecting established boundaries and acknowledging the contributions of everyone.

“The NWC believes that any sign of disarray in the Party’s ranks will undermine the spirit and ethos of the campaign and give the undue alarm to faithful members and followers of the Party across the country.

“Without further admonishment or complaints, I wish hereby to call upon Your Excellency to restrain the PCC from undertaking solo projects of this nature and agree to work with all stakeholders towards taking our Party to victory.

“I shall not find it necessary to reiterate the importance of the Party in the overall scheme of things in these campaigns and the singular position of the NWC in driving the process towards our securing of victory in the polls,” the chairman added. 

Mr Tinubu unveiled a long PCC list last Friday, consisting of 422 members with President Muhammadu Buhari as chairman, himself and national chairman Adamu as co-deputy chairmen. The council also has on it several ex-military leaders, APC governors, lawmakers, and Nollywood actors. 

Since the PCC list was released to the public, several APC leaders and stakeholders home and abroad have criticised their exclusion in the composition of the list.

Members of the APC in Ghana faulted the list, insisting that it should be inclusive of a member from each of the diaspora chapters of the party.

APC leaders from Kwara South, a senatorial district where Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, hails from, also protested exclusion of zone members.

Mr Mohammed, an erstwhile close ally of Mr Tinubu, was himself not named in the list.