NSA’s Pick as Fintiri’s Successor, Brewing Crisis in Adamawa

Fresh crisis appears to be brewing within the Adamawa Chapter of the All Progressive Congress over who succeeds Governor Ahmadu Fintiri ahead of the 2027 general elections.

The development, which has fingers pointing at Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, President Bola Tinubu’s National Security Adviser, followed the recent outcome of the party’s Zonal Congress for the North East, where the NSA’s hand-picked candidate for the post of National Vice Chairman, North East, Barrister Shuiabu Idris emerged.

The emergence of Idris, who hails from Ribadu’s home state of Adamawa, is causing disquiet within the Adamawa APC, ahead of the 2027 gubernatorial primaries set to pitch Ribadu, erstwhile leader of the APC in the state, against the incumbent Governor Ahmadu Fintiri, a new entrant into the APC who now doubles as the de facto leader of the party in the state.

Prior to Governor Ahmadu Fintiri’s defection from the PDP into the APC, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, National Security Adviser, served as the leader of the APC in Adamawa. Besides calling the shots, he also determined who got what as far as appointments into Federal government were concerned.

However, with Governor Fintiri’s joining the APC and assuming the party’s leadership position, a fresh crisis appears to be brewing over governor Fintiri’s successor ahead of the 2027 general elections.

At the root of the fresh crisis embroiling the party in Adamawa are concerns that the NSA, has settled for the Executive Secretary of the Petroleum Technology Development Fund, Alhaji Ahmed Galadima Aminu, as Governor Fintiri’s successor, thereby pitting the latter’s camp against the NSA and setting both men on a collision course.

Indications of this emerged following the just-concluded North East Zonal congress of the APC where the NSA appears to have successfully foisted his loyalist, Barrister Shuiabu Idris, as the National Vice Chairman of the North East of the APC, with many in the party angered that the congress was just an imposition, as other aspirants were excluded from vying for key positions.

The development Saturday PUNCH gathered has triggered fear within Governor Fintiri’s camp, foiling speculation the governor may be losing grip of determining the choice of his successor with the way things are playing out as the NSA continues to consolidate his hold on the APC despite Fintiri being the purported leader of the party.

Alhaji Ibrahim Mohammed, an influential member of the APC and staunch supporter of Governor Fintiri in the state, while speaking on the succession battle ahead of the APC National convention holding on Saturday in Abuja, has called the conduct of the Gombe Zonal mini-convention which produced Barr. Shuiabu Idris as APC National Vice Chairman, North East, “a sham”.

In his opinion the sham congress in Gombe only gives an indication of what is to come within the APC as it relates to the party’s selection of a candidate ahead of the 2027 general elections.

He said, “The sham congress which occurred in Gombe highlights a deep-rooted issue within the APC as it relates to candidate selection ahead of the primaries of the party. Because what happened in Gombe is clearly an imposition and the erosion of internal democracy because other aspirants were not even allowed to participate in any of the process.”

Obviously peeved by the development, Mohammed recalled that ” It is clear the APC could be repeating the exact same thing that occurred in 2015 which led to the defeat of the PDP in the state when, as a ruling party then, the PDP against decency, chose to impose Mallam Nuhu Ribadu as the governorship candidate of the party through a sham primary that was conducted in Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory, and which also resulted in its defeat by the APC in that year’s election.”

The sentiments around the imposition of candidates, according to other party members who spoke on the condition of anonymity, all echoed Mohammed’s position while cautioning the APC against taking steps that could imperil its chances in the 2027 Governorship elections.

They pointed to past experiences, specifically that of the 2015 PDP primaries cited by Mohammed that led to the defeat of the PDP by the opposition, repeating themselves again in the state if Ribadu goes ahead with foisting his preferred choice for governor on the party.

They maintained that the same fate that befell the PDP in 2015 could befall the APC, whereby seething members of the party, rather than leave, stayed and worked against the candidature of Ribadu, adding that the same thing could be done if the candidate that would be presented as the party’s gubernatorial flagbearer doesn’t emerge through a transparent process.

Jabatawa James, a former aspirant for the State Assembly constituency seat for Yola North, under the APC said, ” Right before our eyes we are seeing a similar pattern of imposition wearing its ugly head with Ribadu as the Chief Architect again.”

He said he doesn’t believe there would be any level playing field ahead of the primaries for the 2027 general elections if the outcome of the Zonal congress is anything to go by.

Similarly, Aliyu Abdullahi, another APC member who witnessed the congress and said he was disenfranchised from voting for other aspirants such as Abubakar Umar Jarengol and Ahmadu Hamman, urged party leadership to ensure the principles of democracy and transparency prevail.

According to him, what he witnessed in Gombe was a shambolic drama, adding that “only a genuine commitment to internal democracy could mitigate the dangers of imposition by powers from above and foster a healthier political environment within the APC in Adamawa State.” It is no secret that Ribadu is bent on backing Galadima for Governor but he must be careful how he goes about it so that the party does not implode and what happened to him in 2015 when he got the nomination but lost in the general elections because of imposition.”

Musa Abdullahi from Yola