Governor Umaru Fintiri of Adamawa State says his relationship with ex-vice president Atiku Abubakar is still intact but insists that “a northerner has no business at the moment to vie for the office of the president.”
Nigerian politicians have a gentleman power-sharing arrangement between the northern and southern regions. Tinubu, who is from the southern part of the country, is still in his first term.
While not recognised by law, Fintiri believes the power-sharing deal should continue, arguing that southern Nigeria should complete eight years in the presidency before power returns to the north.
Atiku, who is from Adamawa State, is eyeing the country’s presidential seat in the 2027 election, hoping to fly the flag of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) in the election where he will be squaring up against President Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Despite leaving the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for the APC last week, Fintiri insists that “nothing has gone bad” in his relationship with Atiku, adding that “it is just that everybody has taken their political ways, and I am today in APC, they are in another party.”
The Adamawa State governor said on Tuesday’s edition of Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily, that the power-sharing deal is a unifying factor in the country.
He maintained that it is currently the turn of the South and they should be allowed to hold the presidency until 2031 for the sake of the country’s stability.
“The stability of this country matters in the polity of the nation. It is still the turn of the South to complete. So, if there’s no other candidate we should support President Bola Tinubu to complete the turn of the South.
“After all, he has done so much. He is doing so much. He has initiated good policies that are working and showing us light at the end of the tunnel,” he said.
Attractions Media reports that Fintiri became the latest high-profile politician to defect to the APC, a move which increased the number of governors in the ruling party to 31.
Critics have questioned the mass defection into the APC, saying the country is sliding into a one-party state. But Finitri has defended his decision to join the APC, citing the need to align his people with the ruling party.
“The move was purely in the interest of the people and the state…because for long, it is not about winning elections but aligning and getting more for our people,” he said.
