- Adamawa Assembly Speaker resigns from PDP with 14 lawmakers
- Defections linked to Governor Fintiri’s APC plan
- APC shelved congresses to accommodate new political structure
- State Assembly now APC-dominated ahead of 2027
The Speaker of the Adamawa State House of Assembly, Wesley Bathiya, alongside 14 other lawmakers, has resigned from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), a move widely seen as a major step toward Governor Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri’s expected defection to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
The mass resignation comes amid growing reports that Governor Fintiri is finalising plans to leave the PDP for the APC, in what political observers describe as a strategic realignment ahead of the 2027 general elections.
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Sources within the state political circle say the coordinated exit of the Speaker and the lawmakers is a calculated move to consolidate political structures in advance of the governor’s anticipated transition to the ruling party.
This development follows the earlier decision by the APC to suspend its planned state congresses in Adamawa, a move interpreted as a concession aimed at easing Governor Fintiri’s entry into the party without internal opposition.
The decision to shelve the congresses, however, sparked discontent among APC loyalists in the state, with concerns raised over whether internal democratic processes were being sacrificed to accommodate a high-profile defection.
With the Speaker and a majority bloc in the 25-member Assembly now formally cutting ties with the PDP, the balance of power in the House appears to have shifted decisively in favour of the APC. The Assembly is now effectively an APC-dominated chamber.
A political analyst familiar with developments in the state said:
“This signals a near-total collapse of the PDP’s structure within the State Assembly and strongly suggests that the governor’s defection is no longer a question of if, but when.”
Should Governor Fintiri complete his move, he would follow the path taken by Taraba State Governor Agbu Kefas, further shrinking the PDP’s footprint in the North-east.
At the end of the 2023 elections, the PDP controlled governorship seats in three of the region’s six states; Adamawa, Taraba and Bauchi. If current trends continue, Bauchi may soon remain the party’s only stronghold in the zone.