Fintiri Defects to APC, Reshaping Adamawa and North-East Politics

Governor Ahmadu Fintiri of Adamawa State has left the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for the All Progressives Congress (APC), a decision that changes power calculations in the North-east and deepens pressure on Nigeria’s main opposition platform.

Fintiri announced the move in a statewide broadcast from Government House, Yola, on Friday. He said the decision followed consultations across political and community stakeholders and was intended to align Adamawa with the Federal Government under President Bola Tinubu.

According to the governor, the shift is tied to support for the administration’s Renewed Hope Agenda and what he described as a push for long-term development and political stability in the state.

The defection goes beyond the governor personally. Fintiri said members of his cabinet, local government chairpersons and party executives across Adamawa’s 21 local government areas and 226 wards are moving with him.

Before the announcement, 15 members of the Adamawa State House of Assembly, including the Speaker, had resigned from the PDP. That development altered the arithmetic in the 25-member assembly in favour of the APC.

While governors can defect without losing office, lawmakers do not enjoy the same constitutional protection. Sections 68(1)(g) and 109(1)(g) of the 1999 Constitution require federal and state legislators to vacate their seats if they change party before the end of their term, except where there is a legally recognisable division within their original party.

The legal position was reinforced by the Supreme Court in Abegunde v. Ondo State House of Assembly (2015), where the court said personal disagreements or internal grievances are not enough to justify defection without consequences. The court held that only a clear, provable factional split can protect defecting lawmakers from forfeiting their mandates.

For Adamawa, the practical effect may now depend on litigation and judicial interpretation of whether the prevailing crisis in the PDP meets that constitutional threshold.

The political symbolism of Fintiri’s move is also significant because Adamawa is the home state of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, a central opposition figure and a key personality in the emerging coalition around the African Democratic Congress (ADC).

Fintiri won re-election in 2023 with 430,861 votes against 398,738 scored by the APC candidate, according to official results. His movement to the APC now transfers a large share of the PDP’s governing machinery in the state to the ruling party ahead of the next cycle.

One notable exception to the realignment is Adamu Atiku Abubakar, Adamawa commissioner for works and energy and son of the former vice president. Sources cited in the report said he did not move with the governor, and his status in the cabinet remains uncertain.

With Adamawa’s exit, the PDP is now left with three governorship states: Oyo, Bauchi and Zamfara. Analysts said continued defections since the 2023 election are shrinking opposition administrative strength at state level and may affect mobilisation capacity, campaign logistics and funding networks ahead of 2027.

For the APC, Fintiri’s defection strengthens control in the North-east, where regional numbers remain important in national electoral strategy. Observers said the latest move confirms a broader trend of governors and political blocs aligning with the ruling party as positioning for the next general election gathers pace.