Politics
Adamawa APC Suspends State Chairman
Twenty-five members of the State Executive Committee of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Adamawa state, Monday, impeached the chairman of the party, Ibrahim Bilal.
The executive members cited gross abuse of power, corruption, dereliction of duty, embezzlement, among other 23 allegations levelled against the embattled Chairman.
The SEC members also unanimously endorsed the deputy chairman, Samaila Taddawus as acting chairman.
This is contained in a press statement issued by the members of the State Executive Committee in Yola, Adamawa state.
While accepting his appointment as the acting Chairman, Taddawua, vowed to reconcile aggrieved members and refocused the party towards achieving overwhelming victory in 2023.
While passing a vote of no confidence on the chairman of All Progressives Congress (APC), Ibrahim Bilal, the SEC members said, “We the undersigned members of the state executive committee of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Adamawa State wish to pass a vote of no confidence on the chairman of Adamawa State chapter of APC, Ibrahim Bilal, over gross misconduct.
“Our resolve to take this line of action follows the failure of the chairman to respond to the allegations of gross misconduct leveled against him as provided for in the constitution.
“We view his failure to respond to the weighty allegations as acceptance of guilt.”
The statement explained that, “On the 26th August 2022, twenty five members of the state executive committee, issued a formal complaint to three executive officers of the party over constitutional violations which constitute gross misconduct in line with the spirit of fair hearing as provided by the constitution.
“The persons involved are the chairman of the party, Ibrahim Bilal, the secretary of the party, Mr. Raymond Chidama and the treasurer of the party Alh. Yahya Hammanjulde.
“They were given seven day grace to respond to the allegations which elapsed on 1st September 2022.
“The secretary and the treasurer duly responded and made convincing submissions and hence cleared their names.
“But as at this day, the chairman of the party refused to respond to the grave allegations in other to clear his name. He has even refused to come to Yola from his Abuja base where he has permanently relocated.
The statement further adds that, “As a result of this gross failure, we hereby resolved to invoke article 21.5 (vi) of the party’s constitution which vested us with the powers to pass a vote of no confidence on him this day of September 2022.”
Outlining their grievances against the party chairman, the committee states that, “The chairman has through dubious means deceived the aspirants of the party and collected huge sums of monies from them running into hundreds of millions of naira.
“The chairman sold many vehicles belonging to the party and did not remit a dime to the secretariat.
“The chairman has shrouded the finances of the secretariat in secrecy and has been running the affairs of the party like a personal investment with no checks and balances and without auditing since he came on board.
“The chairman has converted some properties of the secretariat into personal use.
“The chairman collected huge bribes from the PDP to subvert the recent gubernatorial primaries of APC.
“He is living in stupendous opulence beyond his legitimate earnings enabling him to have a number of choice properties in Yola and Abuja.
“The chairman vehemently refused to create the necessary avenue for aggrieved parties to reconcile after the conduct of party primaries.
“The chairman blatantly refused to congratulate the winner of the gubernatorial primaries of our great party, Sen. Aishatu Dahiru Ahmed Binani on time without any justification even though some party executive have prodded and advised him to do so.
“The chairman bought an eight seater bus at the cost of N29 million without consultation or due approval of the Executives or any organ of the party as stipulated in the constitution.
“The chairman in a very shameful manner unbecoming of a person holding such important position, threw caution to the wind and physically assaulted former Kebbi state governor, His Excellency Saidu Nasamu Dakin Gari.
“We have lost confidence in his stewardship on account of his abysmal conduct, disrespect for laid down constitutional provision, and impudence.”
The committee said the embattled Chairman has also been involved in, “Anti party activities in total contravention of party’s constitutional instruments which he used to partake in sublime misconduct by urging the people of his constituency not to vote for the candidate of APC Adamawa north senatorial zone, Sen Ishaku Cliff Abbo but urged them to vote Dr. Abdullahi Belel, the candidate of NNPP through his verified Facebook handle.”
The Commission disclosed the figure in its weekly update for week 14 of the second phase of the exercise, which ended on Friday, April 17, 2026.
According to the breakdown, 2,259,288 Nigerians completed their registration through the online pre-registration portal, while 1,489,416 finalized their registration physically at designated centres nationwide.
INEC noted that the figures remain preliminary and are subject to further verification and data cleaning processes to ensure accuracy ahead of the consolidation of the national voter register.
With the conclusion of the registration phase, the Commission has now shifted focus to the display of the Register of Voters for Claims and Objections, a statutory stage aimed at strengthening the credibility and integrity of the voters register.
The display exercise is scheduled to hold from April 29 to May 5, 2026, across designated centres nationwide, providing citizens the opportunity to verify their details and raise objections where necessary.
The Commission urged all registered voters from the concluded phase to take advantage of the exercise to confirm the accuracy of their information and assist in identifying ineligible entries, including duplicate registrations, deceased persons, and non-citizens.
INEC explained that the Continuous Voter Registration exercise is being conducted in phases, with the first phase running from August 18 to December 10, 2025, while the second phase commenced on January 5, 2026 and ended on April 17, 2026.
The Commission further stated that the date for the commencement of the third phase will be announced in due course.
Reaffirming its commitment to credible elections, INEC stressed that maintaining a clean and accurate voter register remains central to ensuring free, fair, and transparent electoral processes in Nigeria.
The Executive Director of IPC, Mr Lanre Arogundade, informed the journalists that the dialogue was sponsored by the European Union, under the auspices of the EU-Support to Democratic Governance in Nigeria (EU-SDGN II), Component 4: Support to Media.
According to the veteran media practitioner, the programme is aimed at strengthening the capacity of the media to promote credible elections through factual, accurate and fair reporting.
He explained that the programme is part of a broader five-year intervention designed to support democratic governance and improve the role of the media in Nigeria’s electoral process, stressing that fact-checking and inclusive reporting are critical responsibilities for journalists, especially during electioneering.
He described the media as a central role agent with regard to upholding transparency and accountability in the democratic process.
A resource person and Director of Journalism Clinic, Lagos, Mr Taiwo Obe, enjoined journalists to embrace the evolving technology so that they would not be in the backwaters in the practice of the profession.
He advised journalists not to downplay Artificial Intelligence (AI) in their bid to remain relevant in the media environment by being abreast of the changing patterns of news consumption.
The journalism teacher explained that with digital transformation of the media industry, it had become imperative for journalists to constantly upgrade and update their skills, stressing the fundamental place of attitude and self-development and underscored the dynamic nature of media consumption in the digital age, thereby compelling journalists to embrace tools and platforms, but without much reliance on AI.
In his lecture, a Professor of Mass Communication at the Federal University Oye-Ekiti (FUOYE), Adebola Aderibigbe, advised journalists in Ekiti State to ensure that coverage of the upcoming governorship poll is issue-based rather than dwelling on personalities.
He added that sensationalism should not occupy the front-burner of any discussions concerning the 2026 election, admonishing that sustenance of democracy is anchored on responsible journalism.
”Journalists must prioritise accuracy, fairness and balance in their reports by verifying facts and giving all parties involved in political matters the opportunity to present their views”, he said.
According to the university don, the election will not be defined by personalities, but by issues. ”Let issues be the pivotal ring upon which every discussion should be made. Sensationalisation of issues should not be the bedrock of discussions in the 2026 election”, he added.
“Do not hear from Party A without hearing from Party B, otherwise the report will be skewed to one side and once issues of elections are skewed, problems will naturally arise”, he stressed.
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