Nyako’s entry, Shettima’s outbursts, Fintiri’s masterstroke and an early war in Adamawa APC
By Mohammed Ismail
The die is already cast as signs have shown that Adamawa State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) may be drawn into an intractable internal war that may prove fatal to its quest for succession beyond 2027 general elections.
It is believed that the war for the control of the soul of the party between governor Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri and the legacy establishment in the party has started sooner than expected.
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Two developments which occurred in rapid succession lend credence to this fact; first is the realignment of forces consummated between governor Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri and the Nyako’s family which snowballed into the almost impromptu defection of Commander AbdulAziz Nyako into the APC on the imprimatur of Fintiri.
The move by governor Fintiri which is believed to be a strategy to counterbalance the influence of Mallam Nuhu Ribadu by bringing the Nyako’s into the mix is seen as a wily political move that will add another layer of skirmish to the complex power equation in the party.
A number of ranking legacy members of APC, this author learnt, were not comfortable with Fintiri’s entry into APC hence bracing up to challenge his legitimacy to lead the party which has been under the firm grip, control and authority of Mallam Nuhu Ribadu.
This development may not escape Fintiri’s eagle eyes as a vigilant political actor. Fintiri right from the onset knows that he has to contend with backlash from known quarters. So it is assumed that he decided not to stay idly but to take a proactive step to nip a budding crisis of confidence before it consumed him.
Like I have said in previous articles, Fintiri’s entry into APC was purely and strategically for self preservation, a natural instinct for survival in the face of uncertain future. In order to prove his loyalty to the Ahmed Bola Tinubu administration, Fintiri has since became a willing propagandist of the Tinubu second term gambit by aligning with the clamour for power retention to the south and advocating for Tinubu’s continuity.
But aligning and campaigning for Tinubu is not sufficient for Fintiri to win the hearts of his core adversaries. Therefore, he has to look for a political solution by establishing a strong political frontier on whose venier, his political survival will not only rest but thrive.
It appears that Fintiri’s calculation for a successor when he was in PDP must have change to reflect the dynamics of his current political party. Hitherto, no one dares his decision when he was the leader of the PDP as his words assumed the force of the law. But his coming to the APC exposed him to the vagaries as many stalwarts of the party openly challenged his quest to become the leader of a party he so much maligned, rebuked and desecrated in the past.
By bringing Nyako into the mix, Fintiri will succeed in breaking the ranks of the Fulani establishment in the APC especially if he intends to support Sen AbdulAziz Nyako’s unfulfilled ambition to rule the state. By every stretch, AbdulAziz Nyako’s father and former governor of Adamawa State, Murtala Hammanyero Nyako is one of the most respected Fulani figures who also enjoyed massive followership on account his laissez-faire style of governance coupled with unprecedented human capital development when he held sway as Adamawa governor between 2007 and 2014.
By supporting Sen AbdulAziz Nyako, Fintiri will be seen to obliterate his grotesque sin in the eyes of the Fulani establishment, which is the illegal impeachment of governor Nyako in 2014.
The other development has to do with the forceful way in which the vice president of Nigeria, Sen. Kashim Shettima asserted governor Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri as the leader of Adamawa State APC.
The way and manner the vice president over flogged the issue by bringing copious examples from other states to buttress that governors are the leaders of their states was out of the ordinary. Whether his vituperation came as a coincidence or planned, his message has sunk well with the targeted audience.
It is a known fact that there is no love lost between Ribadu and Kashim Shettima over alleged insinuations that the former who is a ranking kitchen cabinet member of the Tinubu government, has in the past worked to have the latter replaced as vice president come 2027 general election.
The perception of ill feelings by Adamawa APC stakeholders against Kashim Shettima was the major trigger of a violent confrontation during a regional stakeholders meeting in Gombe in which Adamawa stakeholders came under heavy attack by Borno APC stakeholders who believed that their Adamawa counterparts were behind moves to get Kashim replaced in 2027.
The rift between Ribadu and Shettima is therefore, an open secret. Such cleavage must have underscored the exuberance of Shettima to assert Fintiri’s superiority with zeal and animation. Again, in Shettima, Fintiri has found another willing friend who will fight his course without any strings attached.
And as if by collusion, both Fintiri and Shettima while congratulating AbdulAziz Nyako over his return to APC all alluded to the fact that Nyako is a politician with a history of winning election.
In a deflective rendition of Nyako’s massive goodwill and strong political capital, Fintiri described Nyako’s exit from ADC as the death knell of the party. But in a more direct verbal diatribe seemingly against Ribadu, Shettima asserted that Nyako’s coming is a huge plus because of his electoral value. He also added that he is earnestly working to bring former governor of the state, Sen Muhammad Umaru Jibrilla Bindow into the fold because of his astuteness and electoral prowess.
It is assumed that the official reception of Fintiri into the APC has opened another chapter into the precarious and uncertain future of Adamawa APC. The question on the lips of many is, will APC survive another seismic internal upheaval and come out unscathed? Only time will tell.
Ismail, the editor-in-chief of FACTCHECKNEWS writes from Yola
