Alhaji Umaru Bello is a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Adamawa State. In this interview with CLEMENT EKONG, he speaks on defections by some members of opposition political parties to the ruling party and recent political developments in the state

There are insinuations that the governor of Adamawa State, Ahmadu Fintiri, will join the All Progressives Congress (APC) ahead of the 2027 general election. If that happens, political bookmakers are of the opinion that such will seal the fate of the proposed coalition in state. What are your thoughts on that?

I disagree with the insinuations, I predict a seismic war of attrition between APC led by Mallam Nuhu Ribadu and Fintiri’s led PDP in Adamawa, noting that despite helping Fintiri to secure victory in 2023, the two sides can’t work together due to manifest ideological differences.

The last thing that Fintiri will do is to align with APC in any situation. Being politically sensitive, Fintiri knows the dangers of doing that.

He quite knows that action is akin to willingly taking himself to the gulag or the slaughter house. So, it will be naive of Fintiri to dare do that.

Many people erroneously believe that Fintiri was indebted to Ribadu because of the way and manner he supported his reelection bid in 2023. That is an erroneous dissection of relationships between the two politicians.

Let me be categorical; the help Ribadu rendered to Fintiri was not inspired by love, ideology or any known precept, it was solely inspired by the innate desire of Ribadu to ensure the defeat of his party and its candidate in that election.

Are you saying that what played out in 2023 was all about politics?

Fintiri knows too well that if Ribadu has secured the 2023 victory and peradventure became governor, he would have been in great discomfort as Ribadu will ensure that his books are thoroughly checked and his tenure investigated.

He would have also revisited his pending graft case at the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

I want to tell you with all sense of seriousness that the help Ribadu gave Fintiri was inspired by a passing political infatuation and aligning interests which collapsed immediately after the election.

Before the election, there was an agreement by the two sides that Fintiri will appoint five persons from Ribadu’s camp into his cabinet and also allow APC to win in six local governments, but as we all know, Fintiri fulfilled all these promises in the breach.

Irked by that audacity, APC refused to partake in that election and they are still in court challenging the conduct of that election. Let me reiterate here that Fintiri and Ribadu have nothing in common.

They were at a point united by the desire to ensure the defeat of Senator Aisha Binani, which forms the crux of relationship between the two politicians.

Therefore, defection of Fintiri to APC from the political point of view will come with a lot of issues. You know as the governor, Fintiri will naturally become the leader of the party and that position will tilt the existing equilibrium in which Ribadu calls the shot.

Ribadu and his supporters will do everything to thwart that natural arrangement. Fintiri will also want his lieutenants to occupy every sensitive position in the party, which will again bring new sets of challenges into the mix.

And there will be serious confrontation during the party primaries as the two camps begin a rat race to field their preferred candidates. So, looking at the issues, no political bookmaker worth his salt will ever predict the defection of Fintiri to APC.

What do you foresee?

My belief is that there will be some alignments of interests in presidential election as Fintiri, having conspired to render PDP impotent on account of denying Atiku the presidential ticket, will have no alternative than to work for Tinubu so as to get soft landing and if he is lucky to be rewarded with a ministerial position, while Ribadu will work for the president to maintain his current status in the government.

There are fears that the 2027 election is already a walkover for the ruling party against the backdrop of the recent high-profile defections tilting towards a one-party state.

Do you hold that belief? Like I said, there is no way you can force people, who are wary, tired and completely exhausted by the maladministration that has become the hallmark of President Tinubu’s administration to vote a party and a candidate, who has brought untold hardship on them.

Since the coming of President Tinubu, unprecedented poverty, hunger and a resurging insecurity have permeated every nook and cranny of the country, especially the North. Going by the pulse and the heartbeat of the North, nothing will make Tinubu win election even if he pockets all the political actors in the region.

I am predicting that as a result of bad governance which exacerbated Nigeria’s existential crises, the coalition which is being midwifed by some patriotic Nigerians may vanish APC completely from leadership space in all elective positions across Nigeria.

Though the massive defections of governors, senators and other political figures will add little value to APC, however Nigerians will surely ventilate their fury against hunger, insecurity and rising poverty which APC government has foisted on the nation The South-East is the region, where Tinubu will have the worst outcome.

If despite the exuberant display of raw power, Hope Uzodinma, the governor of Imo State could not give Imo to APC in 2023, then no one should imagine even in the wildest imagination that APC will ever win the South East which was utterly and completely neglected by the Tinubu administration.

I want you to also put one thing at the back of your mind; most people from the southern part of Nigeria, especially SouthSouth and South-East erroneously believe that APC is a Muslim party.

That belief was also fuelled by the Muslim/Muslim ticket floated by the party in the last presidential election.

Let me assert that the next election will witness a major shift from the established norms, where some pampered politicians call the shots.

Nigerian masses who are bogged by existential challenges will rather find a lasting solution to their artificial crises brought about by bad governance. If President Tinubu despite his iron grip and solid structure on Lagos was defeated in Lagos.

If Ifeanyi Okowa failed to deliver his ward and unit to PDP despite being a presidential running mate and a sitting governor, then you should know that Nigerians are no more lethargic and passive to issues that have to do with their concerns.

Let every governor, every senator, every member of the House of Representatives and other politicians defect to APC, they will never prevent the inevitable defeat of the most horrendous and most cruel political party in Nigeria’s history.