Opinions

Adamawa APC, Haske’s departure and fresh political dynamics

September 12, 2026

By Mohammed Ismail

The resignation of Alhaji Abdulrahman Bashir Haske from the All Progressives Congress (APC) has opened a fresh dimension to Adamawa State political turf, with the development potentially posing one of the biggest tests to the ruling party’s ambition of retaining the governorship in 2027.

Haske’s resignation, contained in a letter dated August 20, 2026 and addressed to the APC ward leadership in Toungo Ward, Yola South Local Government Area, formally brings to an end his membership of the party after an tense political standoff with the party’s establishment.

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But the real consequence of his departure may not be the loss of another APC member. It is the possibility that the party is losing a significant segment of the political structure, grassroots network and youth constituency that Haske built while he was in the party.

Haske was one of the most visible and prominent contenders for the APC governorship ticket before the former Petroleum Technology Development Fund (PTDF) boss, Ahmed Tijjani Galadima, emerged as the party’s candidate.

At the May primary, Galadima was declared winner with 414,444 votes, while Abdulrazaq Namdas scored 86,004 and Haske 65,424. Haske subsequently questioned the conduct of the exercise, alleging irregularities in voting and the collation process.

Although the APC has maintained a stout support for Galadima, Haske’s departure may introduce a potentially damaging variable into the party’s calculations.

For Galadima, the immediate challenge is no longer how to win the 2027 election but how to rebuild and mobilize political interests around his ambition to augment the shortfall.

Haske has embarked on a statewide mobilisation campaign before the primary, touring the 21 local government areas and building contacts among traditional rulers, youths, women, professionals and party stakeholders. In the process, he expended a lot of time, energy and resources to build what is seen as an impregnable political machinery across the length and breadth of the state.

His April declaration at Ribadu Square became the major litmus test of his popularity having attracted substantial support from youth, women groups and other critical stakeholders across the state.

That network is now potentially available to whichever political platform Haske chooses to berth especially the Allied Peoples Movement (APM) a party associated with him for a long time.

His formal resignation from APC, however, gives the speculation a new political weight. If Haske eventually contests the governorship on another platform and succeeds in transferring a substantial portion of his APC support base with him, the development could prove dicey for Galadima and may make his ambition, considerably more difficult.

The bigger issue for the APC is whether Haske’s exit will remain an individual political decision or develop into a wider movement. But from the network he has, one could hazard a guess that he will go with his youthful base.

Political parties can survive the departure of individual aspirants. But they become vulnerable when aspirants leave with organised structures, ward-level coordinators, youth groups, women organisations and influential political actors.

This is particularly significant because Haske did not enter the APC governorship race as an obscure aspirant. His campaign was built around youth mobilisation and a message of generational change.

He also presented himself as a younger alternative in a contest dominated by more established political figures. In an interview during the campaign, he argued that his age and preparedness positioned him to offer a different model of leadership. That generational argument could become even more potent outside the APC.

Galadima’s emergence was initially expected to give the APC a clear direction after a competitive primary but the aftermath of the party primaries which snowballed into indignant protests by aggrieved candidates seemingly spoiled the show. As a result of the indignation, Galadima found it considerably difficult to convert his victory into a broad electoral force.

If a sizeable portion of Haske’s supporters conclude that the APC ignored their preferred candidate and subsequently follow him to another platform, Galadima could face an avoidable erosion of the coalition he needs to challenge the opposition.

The danger is particularly acute among younger voters who may identify more strongly with Haske’s generational message than with traditional party structures.

There is also a strategic irony in Haske’s departure. When he contested the APC primary, his political energy was contained within the party. His campaign competed against Galadima but ultimately remained part of the APC’s internal structure.

Outside the party, however, the same political energy could become a direct electoral threat. An organised Haske campaign on another platform could draw votes from APC’s traditional coalition similar to what happened in 2019 and 2023 when internal fissures, cost APC victory.

It could also force the APC to spend valuable political resources defending areas it would otherwise consider secure.

This becomes more lethal because the development has the tendency of eroding the party’s strength which was enhanced following Governor Ahmadu Fintiri’s February 2026 political realignment from the PDP to the APC.

The party therefore will enter the 2027 contest with a much larger political coalition but also a more complicated internal balance.

Haske’s resignation should therefore be viewed as a warning signal rather than an isolated political event. For the APC, the immediate question is whether the party can regain its balance after the departure of Haske.

The APC may still possess the institutional advantage of being the ruling party at the federal and state levels, while Galadima remains its recognised governorship candidate. But the loss of a popular aspirant with an established grassroots network could complicate the party’s electoral arithmetic.

Ultimately, Haske’s exit will create a new equation: APC must now fight not only to defeat its traditional opponents, but also to prevent an internal political rupture from becoming an external electoral threat.

And for Galadima, the road to Government House may now depend as much on how successfully he manages the consequences of Haske’s departure as well as managing the strength of the party machinery.

Ismail writes from Yola.