Former Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Babachir Lawal, has dismissed allegations that he is working as a political spy for the All Progressives Congress (APC).
The Adamawa State chairman of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Shehu Yohanna, had accused the former SGF of working from within the party with a mission to destabilise the ADC and thwart the presidential ambition of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar ahead of the 2027 elections.
In an interview with Punch, he also accused the former SGF of plotting to replace him with an ally to gain control of the party’s structure in the state.
However, in an interview with the publication mentioned above, the former SGF described the allegations as “laughable” and “desperate, ” adding that Yohanna is an illegitimate interim chairman afraid of being removed.
He further denied any links to the APC or President Bola Tinubu, insisting he had no intention of supporting the party, now or in the future.
Babachir, who resigned his APC membership recently, has been a critic of the Tinubu administration, firstly before his election over the Muslim-Muslim ticket and for what he termed anti-people policies.
Yohanna alleged that the former SGF was deployed by the ruling APC to spy on ADC, saying that with Lawal, ADC would not move forward.
He further accused Lawal of working hard to replace him with his candidate since he could not control him enough to support his private project.
“Lawal is working to replace me with his tribal man, Suleiman Umana, but his project will not see the light of the day.
“It is not today I started politics, it’s been from my secondary school days to university. I’m not a novice in the game of politics,” he said.
The ADC chairman cautioned Atiku over the antics of the former SGF, adding that the attempt to remove him was to ground the presidential ambition of Atiku in 2027.
Yohanna insisted that the only condition to remove him as chairman was through a delegate congress, not through an individual using illegal means.
He said Atiku would formally receive his ADC membership card in Jada Local Government on August 6.
Reacting, Lawal said, “Yohanna is an interim chairman by arrangement, because he resigned and contested for the House of Representatives in 2023. So he cannot claim to be the legitimate chairman of the party.”
Lawal further said that based on the ADC constitution, Yohanna is not a legitimate chairman but an interim leader.
“Let him go and read the constitution of the party. He should tender the result or report of the congress that elected him. He is just afraid that he is going to be replaced,” he stated.
Speaking on the APC spy allegation, Lawal said, “It is laughable for any normal person to say that I’m working for APC or President Tinubu.
“The people who know me can say that the last thing I will do is to support the APC in my life.”
Lawal said that during the days of the late President Muhammadu Buhari, he only worked for Buhari and not the APC.
“I did not work for any APC candidate, including the Adamawa State governorship candidate, apart from Buhari, so how can I work for Tinubu or APC today?”