The Presidency on Friday mocked former Vice President Atiku Abubakar following the defection of the Governor of his home Adamawa State, Ahmadu Fintiri, to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
The Governor ditched the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on Friday, in a political move that alters the power equation in the North-east state with some implications for Atiku and his 2027 presidential ambition.
Fintiri announced his defection in a statewide broadcast on Friday, saying he moved to the APC in the “developmental interest” of Adamawa State.
“I have taken this decision after wide consultations and in the best interest of the development of our dear state,” he said, adding that members of his cabinet and other PDP officials in the state were joining him in the APC.
This came on the heels of the resignation of the Speaker of the Adamawa State House of Assembly, Bathiya Wesley, and 15 lawmakers from the PDP on Wednesday. The lawmakers cited the lingering crisis at the party’s national level as the reason for their exit.
Their resignation letters were read during plenary, days after reports emerged that they had met with Fintiri at the Government House in Yola, fuelling speculation of a broader political realignment.
Among those who left PDP are Deputy Speaker Mohammed Buba Jada-Mbulo and lawmakers representing Madagali, Song, Belel, Michika, Shelleng, Mayo Belwa and other constituencies across the state.
The presidency reacted to the developments in Adamawa State through Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, who mocked Atiku, suggesting that the defection weakens his political base ahead of the 2027 general election.
In a statement, Onanuga described the governor’s move as further proof of the growing acceptance of the APC across the country, including in states previously considered opposition strongholds.
Atiku, who was the PDP presidential candidate in the 2019 and 2023 elections and hails from Adamawa State, has yet to issue a formal statement on the governor’s decision as of the time of filing this report.
Adamawa has always been Atiku’s political fotress since he won Adamawa’s inaugural Fourth Republic governorship election in 1998 before accepting nomination as Olusegun Obasanjo:s running mate in that year’s presidential election.
With his home base where he has maintained considerable influence over the years now in the firm grip of the APC, it remains to be seen how stakeholders in the All Democratic Congress (ADC) would consider him worthy enough to be their presidential candidate in 2027.
