ADAMAWA State Governor, Umaru Fintiri, has announced his defection from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC).
News Point Nigeria reports that Fintiri announced this in a state broadcast on Friday.
The governor said he moved with all his cabinet members, appointees, and elected local government chairmen.
He said that his decision was made in the interest of the people of Adamawa State and national unity, emphasising the need for stronger alignment with the Federal Government to advance development priorities.
The Speaker of the Adamawa State House of Assembly, Wesley Bathiya, had on Wednesday resigned his membership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) alongside 14 other lawmakers.
The Speaker made the announcement during plenary, presenting letters of resignation from the affected members.
After concluding legislative business, he called for order and read the letters of withdrawal one after another, confirming their exit from the ruling party.
One of the defecting lawmakers, Mahmud Kallamu, chairman of the House Committee on Information, described the move as strategic.
An APC lawmaker, speaking on the sidelines, said the party would welcome the defectors if they chose to join.
In a related development, the Presidency has advised former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar to consider retiring from partisan politics and relocate to his “second home in Dubai”, the United Arab Emirates.
Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, said this in a post on social media on Friday.
He said the defection of Governor Fintiri had shown that Atiku is not popular in his state.
Onanuga said Fintiri had taken away Abubakar Atiku’s entire home base to President Bola Tinubu’s party.
He described the move as a big blow to the presidential ambition of Atiku, adding that a candidate that is not strong at home cannot sell his candidacy to outsiders.
The Presidential spokesman said “Big Blow for Atiku in Adamawa: Fintiri joins APC, making Tinubu’s party a juggernaut in the state
“All members of his cabinet, lawmakers and other PDP officials in the state moved with him to the APC, thus fortifying the APC’s advantage and presence in the state.”
The Presidency said what this means for Atiku is that “With the presidential election less than a year away, Fintiri’s defection is surely a big blow to veteran presidential runner Atiku Abubakar.
“His ADC is largely unknown in the state. He certainly needs to reassess his ambition, as his governor has turned the APC into an Adamawa juggernaut.
“If a politician is not so popular at home, he has no business selling his candidacy to outsiders. The time is nigh for Atiku to consider retiring from politics and going to his second home in Dubai.”