Adamawa guber: How Fintiri’s plans to humiliate Ribadu backfires, suffers crushing blow from NSA
By Mohammed Ismail
Despite an existing gentleman agreement that the APC legacy group led by Nuhu Ribadu, Nigeria’s National Security Adviser (NSA) will produce the governorship candidate of APC in Adamawa State while the PDP block led by governor Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri, will produce the deputy governor of the ticket, this paper learnt that Fintiri in his desire to humiliate the NSA surreptitiously connived with some presidential aides to produce Mustapha Salihu as the governorship candidate of the party, this paper learnt.
The governor”s mission to produce Mustapha Salihu as the governorship candidate, according to sources was to consolidate his position as the champion of ethnic nationalities and to further decimate alleged Fulani hegemony and particularly to relegate the NSA to a ranking eunuch lacking any political substance and relevance in the political equation of Adamawa state.
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Sources privy to the development told our reporter that governor Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri used the occasion of Ribadu’s official visit to the U.S to plan a coup against the arrangement which he willingly subscribed to, on the alter of political expediency and survival, allegedly in collusion with some presidential aides.
This paper also learnt that in the lead to Fintiri’s entry to the APC, leaders of the fusing parties; APC led by Ribadu and PDP led by Fintiri came up with a harmonized template on how positions at the party and the coming government will be shared amongst members of the two blocks.
It was learnt that at the party level, the sharing formula favoured Fintiri who is given the opportunity to produce the chairman of the party and other critical positions while Ribadu will produce the secretary and others in a 40 – 60 percent arrangement in favour of the governor’s block.
While the bargain apparently favoured governor Fintiri at the party level, it however favoured Ribadu in the choice of the governorship candidate as the legacy group led by the NSA is favoured to produce the flagbearer of the party while the PDP block was billed to produce the deputy governor.
This paper learnt that based on that agreement, Mustapha Salihu who has begun extensive preparations to contest the governorship ticket and who became one of the most visible governorship aspirants suddenly took a hiatus based on fresh agreements that he will get the party’s Adamawa central senatorial ticket.
But as the Gongola Peoples Forum allegedly continues to exert mounting pressure on governor Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri to ensure the emergence of an ethnic national as the flagbearer of the party, the governor allegedly made a u-turn, broke the earlier agreement entered by the two parties and openly supported the aspiration of Mustapha Salihu.
It was alleged that based on the assurances given to him by his backers in the presidency, Fintiri became rock sure nothing will derail his mission to bring Mustapha Salihu and in doing so, established himself as the godfather of Adamawa politics.
On that premise, the governor was said to have mobilized his political machinery including commissioners, party structure at the local government and state levels, the speaker, and members of the state house of assembly to support the ambition of Mustapha Salihu who launched one of the most exuberant campaigns since the election season started.
Immediately after relaunching his mission to lead Adamawa State, Mustapha Salihu directly visited governor Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri at the government house to intimate him about his desire. But in a thunderbolt like catharsis, betraying pent up emotions, Fintiri in his response told Salihu and his entourage that he was ready to fight anybody that put pain on his people.
”Anybody who put pains on my people I will fight him. At this moment, I will take my decisions as the governor of the state to ensure that the best is done even at the threat of being persecuted and fully ready and prepared to put my life and blood for this thing to succeed” he told Mustapha Salihu to a thunderous applaus.
Based on that confidence, Mustapha Salihu embarked on a tour to all the 21 local governments where he told traditional leaders and party faithfuls of his renewed vigour to lead the state.
But upon his return to the country, Ribadu, a valiant fighter who was said to be angered by Fintiri’s open betrayal called the governor’s bluff by launching a counter offensive to save his politics from imminent extinction.
He allegedly took the battle to the president where he allegedly tendered all evidences to the effect that the gentleman agreement was actually signed and sealed by the two parties. On that premise, the president who has great admiration and respect for Ribadu was said to have personally called the governor and asked him to respect the agreement in the interest of party unity and cohesion.
Findings indicated that based on Tinubu’s intervention, Fintiri became totally disarmed having lost a very crucial battle capable of completely derailing his political future.
This scenario was made glaring by an expose of Emmanuel Nicholas following a no holds barred chat with governor Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri. On his Facebook page, Mr. Nicholas admitted meeting the governor on the latter’s prompting.
He further stated that the governor told him that he preferred a Christian candidate to succeed him, but his movement to the APC changed the political dynamics completely, as he met an already established structure with its own prospective candidates at various levels.
According to Nicholas, the governor told him that he was asked from above to submit two preferred candidates, and he submitted the names of Comrade Salihu Mustapha and Chief Felix Bilishan F. Tangwami as his preferred choices adding that a lot happened afterwards.
As the governor’s support for Tijjani Galadima became apparent, he faced a major backlash from his core support base mainly the ethnic nationals who accused him of abandoning them to their fate at the last minute despite their heavy investments and support for his candidature and government.
A number of party chieftains who spoke to our reporter in confidence revealed that with the way things are going, sooner than later, the governor will lose the political capital he strenuously built over the years as he risks losing his core support base and will surely fallout with his new friends because of the betrayal he meted to them.
”The pictures of Fintiri taken when the APC governorship candidate payed him a thank you visit did not portray a happy man. They portrayed a picture of a man battling inner emotions of disproportionate angst and pent up anger. Surely the relationship built on convenience will not last,” an APC chieftain who does not want his name in print told our reporter.
A lot of tongues have been wagging over the precarious situation Fintiri has found himself in APC with some suggesting that he may be forced to work against his party to revive his waning popularity within the circles of GPF and ethnic minorities.
With this pregnant situation, Adamawa political landscape promises to be as spectacular as it is dramatic.
Efforts to speak with the chief press secretary to governor Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri, Mr. Humwashi Wonosiko was futile as a read Whatsapp message sent to his mobile phone number was not responded to as at the time of this publication.
