….. it’s a bigger fight to face , a clash of the titans
Tom Garba
As the 2027 governorship elections loom on the horizon, Adamawa State Governor Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri is staring down what political analysts are calling his toughest political battle yet: securing a seamless transition for a PDP successor in a state notorious for frustrating such ambitions.
Despite Fintiri’s recent assertions that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is “repositioned and ready” for the polls, mounting internal fractures, a resurgent opposition, and lingering governance critiques threaten to derail his legacy.
Historical precedent weighs heavily against Fintiri’s succession plans. No former Adamawa governor has successfully anointed a successor, with past attempts unraveling amid intra-party rivalries and voter backlash.
From Bindo Jibrilla’s failed endorsement in 2019 to earlier efforts by Nyako and others, the pattern is clear: power transitions in the North-East state have been anything but smooth.
”For those saying Fintiri cannot deliver his successor because others tried and failed, you should understand that times have changed; but the challenges haven’t,” one local political observer noted recently, echoing widespread skepticism.
Fintiri’s blueprint for continuity, laid out in late 2024, emphasized that any successor must uphold PDP’s dominance and align with his “Taking Adamawa Back” agenda.
Yet, with primaries still over a year away, the governor’s strategy appears vulnerable on multiple fronts. The PDP’s balkanization in Adamawa, marked by high-profile defections and simmering resentments has left the party fractured at the grassroots level.
Governor Fintiri himself has issued stern warnings to defectors, urging them to “leave peacefully without blackmail”, but the exodus continues, fueled by unresolved primaries disputes from 2023.
Compounding this is the PDP’s national meltdown, which has escalated into open warfare. Recent attempts to expel heavyweights like Nyesom Wike have drawn Fintiri’s public rebuke, with the governor distancing himself from the move and warning it could “deepen the PDP crisis”.
As PDP convention chairman, Fintiri has positioned himself as a unity advocate, but critics argue the party’s internal rifts including suspensions and factional tensions risk leaving it without viable candidates by 2027.
The opposition, sensing blood in the water, is sharpening its knives. The All Progressives Congress (APC), buoyed by federal patronage, is plotting bloc-vote strategies in the North, including Adamawa, to consolidate gains.
Meanwhile, the African Democratic Congress (ADC)—now bolstered by former Vice President Atiku Abubakar’s registration in the state is rebranding as Nigeria’s “credible opposition alternative”, with coalition leaders urging a full merger ahead of the polls.
The Labour Party (LP), though quieter, is regrouping post-2023, leveraging youth discontent to mount a credible challenge. The social democratic party and others like YPP, NNPP will weaken both the PDP and APC, including ADC that might end up placing PDP at the receiving end of disadvantaged.
All three parties ADC, APC, and LP are battle-ready, with early maneuvers signaling a no-holds-barred contest for the Dougire Government House.
Closer to home, Fintiri’s administration faces accusations of sidelining key stakeholders, eroding the broad-based support needed for a successor’s buy-in. Reports of inadequate consultations during PDP conventions and primaries have alienated aggrieved members, leading to calls for “genuine reconciliation”.
The governor has even publicly scolded party elders for flouting directives on appointments, underscoring tensions that could fracture the PDP machine.
Perhaps most damaging are the persistent complaints over “human infrastructure”, the oft-cited shortfall in investments in education, healthcare, and skills development that Fintiri promised to prioritize.
While the governor has rolled out initiatives like 21 model schools worth nearly ₦15 billion and ₦7 billion for education and health, viral images of crumbling classrooms, under-equipped hospitals, and pothole-riddled roads have ignited backlash.
It’s no doubt a bigger fight to face, a political fight more to the clash of the titans that only the strongest can survive it. For Ahmadu Fintiri, he may survive it all because of the good will he gained over his transformation agenda of the administrative Urban rural renewal mandate.
To pundits of good leadership, Ahmadu was described as a good driver in murky waters of Adamawa politics. His survival of Binani’s “wujja wujja” political manuvers and his witty prowess in wielding up might in taking over from Senator Muhammadu Umaru Jibrllla Bindow is a plus to him to see him a strong Man to break the Carmel’s back of bringing a successor to continue on his legacies.
The wild celebration of Fintiri remains a fact of a Man who is working the talk and talking the work. Creating history in many faces of Adamawa state, bringing success stories in the anal of history. It’s still an illusion, a proverbial story of how easy it’s for a Carmel to go through a needle than Fintiri to bring a successor. Else it’s a clear submission of God’s will , who rules over the affairs of men.
”Adamawa Governor Fintiri Faces Backlash Over N19Billion Yola Conference Centre While Children Learn In Crumbling Classrooms,” one social media storm captured the frustration. Critics argue these lapses in social capital-building have alienated voters, particularly in
rural strongholds, making it harder to rally behind a handpicked heir.
With PDP’s national woes mirroring Adamawa’s local fissures, the governor’s “supersonic speed” rhetoric will need more than words to outpace the gathering storm. For now, the bigger fight is not just for 2027—it’s for the soul of Adamawa’s political future.
Tom Garba, NIPSS, PLSC, TGNews Publisher