Speaker of the Adamawa State House of Assembly, Bathiya Wesley, and 13 other lawmakers on Tuesday resigned from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), in a move widely seen as clearing the way for the anticipated defection of Governor Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri to the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Sources indicated that the lawmakers’ exit from the PDP is intended to ease the governor’s possible switch to the APC, as Fintiri has reportedly been weighing the option of joining the ruling party for some time.
Fintiri and close allies have on several occasions hinted at leaving the PDP for the APC, especially after the governor’s fallout with fellow PDP governors during the party’s recent congress in Ibadan, Oyo State.
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu recently visited the state to inaugurate projects executed by the governor, after which he was said to have engaged in political talks with Fintiri.
If Fintiri eventually defects, the APC would control 30 states nationwide, reducing the PDP’s tally to three governors, while the Labour Party would have one, the Accord Party one, and the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) one.
The Speaker made the announcement of their resignation during plenary on the floor of the House on Tuesday.
Lawmakers who resigned alongside the Speaker include the Deputy Speaker, Mohammed Buba Jidjiwa (Jada-Mbulo), Kefas Calvin (Toungo), Bulus Geoffrey (Leko–Koma) and Haruna Jilantikiri (Madagali).
Others are Kefas Emmanuel (Song), Ahmed Jingi Belel (Maiha), Hon. Moses Yerima Zah (Michika), Hon. Kate Raymond Mamuno (Demsa), Pwamwakeno Mackondo (Numan), Adun John Alaba (Uba-Gaya), Bulus Kantom (Shelleng), as well as Hon. Musa Mahmud Kallamu (Mayo Belwa) and Japhet Hammanjabu (Verre).
The lawmaker representing Lamurde State Constituency, Bauna Myandiasa, was notably absent from the sitting.
Addressing journalists on the development, Chairman of the House Committee on Information, Mahmud Kallamu, said those who resigned are consulting with their constituents to decide the political platform they may adopt soon.
Kallamu added that the decision of Governor Umaru Fintiri would determie the next step they would take.
Responding to the development, Mohammed Abdullahi, Public Relations Officer of the All Progressives Party (APC) in the state, said the unfolding political realignments reflect how President Bola Tinubu’s administration is drawing support, including from opposition members.
