ADC Calls For State Of Emergency In Katsina, Zamfara States
The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has called on the federal government to urgently declare a state of emergency in Zamfara and Katsina states to curb escalating banditry, even as it dismissed reports of an internal leadership crisis.
National Publicity Secretary of the ADC, Malam Bolaji Abdullahi, in an interview with ARISE NEWS on Thursday, said bandits had effectively seized control of parts of Zamfara, extorting residents, abducting victims, and carrying out killings unchecked.
“We have information that bandits have taken over large swathes of Zamfara, extracting taxes from citizens, abducting people, and slaughtering them,” Abdullahi said.
“If you could declare a state of emergency in Rivers, where no lives were lost, what stops you from doing the same in Zamfara, where Nigerians are being killed daily?”
He clarified that the party was not advocating the removal of elected governors but pushing for extraordinary measures to restore peace.
Abdullahi also weighed in on recent comments by the Chief of Defence Staff, who urged citizens to learn survival and self-defence skills, describing the remark as an admission of institutional failure.
“By saying people should learn to defend themselves, he was admitting that what we have in place is inadequate. I agree completely with that,” Abdullahi stated, while stressing that the government retains the constitutional duty to protect lives.
On internal matters, the ADC spokesman dismissed as “false and recycled” claims by Nafiu Bala that he had assumed leadership of the party. According to him, Bala resigned, and the party had provided evidence to that effect.
“This notion of crisis is good for the headlines, but there is no crisis in the ADC,” Abdullahi insisted.
“The man resigned, and we provided evidence. If he claims otherwise, that’s a crime he should report to the police, not call press conferences.”
He stressed that the party’s constitution vests full powers in the National Executive Committee (NEC) to act on behalf of the convention, noting that decisions taken by the NEC would eventually be ratified when the convention holds.
Looking ahead to 2027, Abdullahi dismissed early presidential declarations by political heavyweights as mere distractions. He maintained that the ADC’s focus remained on building strong national structures.
“Atiku says he will run, Obi says he will run, Amaechi says he will run; that does not stop anyone else,” he remarked.
“What we are committed to is a level playing ground. We will pursue consensus, and if that fails, we will hold competitive primaries. For us, the focus is on building a fighting structure, not rushing into zoning conversations.”
ADC Calls For State Of Emergency In Katsina, Zamfara States is first published on The Whistler Newspaper
