Adamawa Governor Umaru Fintiri’s decampment to the All Progressives Congress (APC) has taken away Abubakar Atiku’s “entire home base to President Tinubu’s party,” the Presidency has said.
Governor Fintiri announced his decision in a broadcast this Friday.
He also announced that he has not left his former party, the PDP, alone, but all members of his cabinet, lawmakers and other PDP officials in the state have moved together with him to the APC, thus fortifying the APC’s advantage and presence in the state.
Fintiri said he defected in the “developmental interest” of the people of Adamawa State.
Bayo Onanuga Special Adviser to the President on Media and Strategy, said in a social media post today that 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,” said Onanuga, adding, “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.”
Meanwhile, the former Vice President and chieftain of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Atiku Abubakar, has declared that the 2027 election will be a straight fight between Bola Tinubu and the APC on one side, and the Nigerian people on the other.
Reacting to the defection of Adamawa State Governor, Ahmadu Fintiri, Atiku said political realignments are not new.
He said every politician is free to choose a path, and he respects that right, adding that even his children are free to take independent political positions.
However, anyone — including his son — who chooses to stand with Nigerians rather than the APC is standing on the side of patriotism.
Atiku warned that the wave of defections by opposition governors is not a sign of APC strength, but evidence of pressure and intimidation.
He accused the Tinubu administration of weaponising state institutions to bully political opponents in a desperate bid to turn Nigeria into a one-party state.
“This government fears accountability. It fears credible elections. It fears the people,” he said.
According to him, no amount of coercion can erase the daily hardship Nigerians face — rising hunger, crushing poverty, worsening insecurity, and mass unemployment caused by failed economic policies.
He said: “Governors may defect for personal survival. Nigerians are defecting in their millions because they want survival.”
Atiku urged citizens not to confuse political cross-carpeting with popularity, saying, “What will the APC campaign on in 2027 — hunger? Hardship? Hopelessness?”
He reminded Nigerians that power ultimately belongs to them and warned against vote-selling.
Atiku said: “Do not trade your future. Do not mortgage your children’s tomorrow. In 2027, the people will have their say — and their will shall prevail.”
