The Chairman of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) Transition Management Committee in Borno, Hon. Ali Wurge, and the embattled state party chairman, Alhaji Kaka Umara Bolori, alongside other party officials, have been invited by the Borno State Commissioner of Police, Mr Nasir Abdulmajid, over the ongoing leadership crisis rocking the party.
NAN gathered that Wurge and key members of the transition committee were invited on Friday following violent clashes that erupted during the inauguration of the interim management committee in Maiduguri last Monday.
Wurge had just finished addressing journalists at the ADC secretariat along Galadima Junction/Abbaganaram Road when armed policemen surrounded the premises and informed him that his presence was required at the Borno State Police Command.
The party has been embroiled in an intra-party crisis over the leadership of the interim management committee constituted by the ADC national secretariat to oversee party affairs pending the election of a substantive executive council.
Trouble reportedly started during the inauguration of the committee when Bolori openly denounced the interim leadership, protesting its composition and insisting that he would not recognise the committee headed by Wurge.
The protest later degenerated into violence, during which about 11 party members and security personnel sustained various degrees of injuries.
Speaking earlier on Friday before his invitation by the police, Wurge dismissed claims that the incident was a protest, describing it as “an orchestrated act of violence against democratic order.”
He alleged that hoodlums, acting on the directives of what he termed “a political despot,” attacked a legitimate party function, destroyed eight vehicles belonging to party members and vandalised a police vehicle.
“This was an assault on the very symbol of state authority,” Wurge said.
He commiserated with the injured party members and policemen, saying their sacrifice would not be forgotten.
“Your wounds are our wounds,” he added.
Wurge maintained that the legitimacy of the transition management committee was firmly established in line with the ADC constitution and electoral guidelines, and duly ratified by the party’s National Working Committee.
He also expressed surprise over threats by Bolori to seek legal redress against the committee, describing such action as null and void, arguing that Bolori was an automatic member of the committee by virtue of his position as state chairman.
The transition committee chairman appealed to party members to set aside personal interests and differences, assuring that his leadership would remain open and inclusive in order to rebuild and reposition the ADC as a formidable opposition ahead of the 2027 general elections.
As of the time of filing this report, the Borno State Police Command was yet to issue an official statement on the invitation.