MAIDUGURI — The leadership crisis rocking the African Democratic Congress (ADC) in Borno State escalated on Friday after the Commissioner of Police, Nasir (Naziru) Abdulmajid, invited key party figures — including transition management committee chairman Hon. Ali Bukar Wurge and embattled state chairman Alhaji (Kaka) Umara Bolori — to the state police command for questioning, party sources said.
According to reports, Wurge had just addressed journalists at the ADC secretariat along the Galadima Junction/Abbaganaram Road in Maiduguri when he noticed armed police officers stationed around the premises. He was subsequently informed that he and other senior members of the transition management committee were needed at the Borno State Police Command.
The invitation follows violent scenes earlier in the week at the inauguration of an interim management/transition committee constituted by the party’s national secretariat to oversee state affairs pending the election of a substantive executive council.
Witness accounts and reports said violence broke out during the inauguration in Maiduguri on Monday after Bolori openly rejected the committee and urged supporters to protest its composition, insisting he would not legitimise an interim leadership headed by Wurge. The confrontation reportedly left about 11 party members and security personnel injured.
Speaking before being invited to the police command, Wurge rejected the characterisation of the incident as a protest, describing it instead as “orchestrated violence” targeted at what he called a legitimate party function. He alleged that thugs “descended upon” the event, destroying eight vehicles belonging to party members and vandalising a police vehicle.
Wurge commiserated with injured party members and police officers and pledged that the committee would pursue accountability for the disruption. He also maintained that the interim committee’s formation was consistent with the ADC constitution and election guidelines and had been ratified by the party’s national leadership.
On the legal threat reportedly issued by Bolori against members of the transition committee, Wurge said such action would be “null and void,” arguing that the state chairman is an automatic member of the committee and should work within it rather than oppose it.
Despite the sharp exchanges, Wurge appealed for restraint and reconciliation, urging members to set aside personal interests and differences in order to reposition the party ahead of the 2027 general elections.
