Vice-President Kashim Shettima has formally welcomed Ahmadu Fintiri, governor of Adamawa, into the All Progressives Congress (APC).
At the Mahmud Ribadu Square in Yola, Shettima said Fintiri
and his teeming supporters are not strangers in the APC family, but partners in
a shared mission to rebuild Nigeria.
In February, Fintiri announced his formal defection to the
APC in a statewide broadcast, saying members of his cabinet and the Peoples
Democratic Party (PDP) in the state had moved with him to the ruling party.
Fintiri said his decision to join the APC is a strategic
step to attract more federal support and accelerate development projects in
Adamawa.
Less than 24 hours after the governor’s defection, 22
commissioners and special advisers in the state also left the PDP for the APC,
attributing their decision to the need to politically align with the governor.
In a statement on Monday by Stanley Nkwocha, his senior
special assistant on media and communications, Shettima said “the governor’s
entry into the APC is a reminder that democracy can also be sustained by the
responsibility of political leaders to make choices that strengthen the system
they serve, and not only by the people’s hallowed mandate”.
“The vice president told the new party entrants that their
arrival was an alignment with a vision that places Nigerians at the centre of
governance as well as a party that understands that power is not an end, but a
responsibility,” the statement reads.
“On behalf of His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu
@officialABAT, I extend a warm and sincere welcome to you, Governor Fintiri,
and to all your supporters who have made this journey today.
“You are not strangers to this house. You are partners in a
shared mission — to build a nation that works, a democracy that delivers, and a
future that rewards the aspirations of our people.”
The vice-president described democracy as the marketplace of
choices, “where preferences are tested, where convictions are weighed, and
where the will of the people finds expression”, stating that under President
Tinubu, the APC has shown progressive leadership.
“I am therefore excited to join you in yet another
endorsement of the progressive politics the All Progressives Congress has
demonstrated under the leadership of His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed
Tinubu,” he said, adding that they were in Yola because the party “has become a
platform worthy of the trust of Nigerians”.
Shettima added that the mass exodus from other political
parties to the APC is an indication “that when given alternatives, the people
will always gravitate towards structure, towards vision, towards order, and
towards a party that understands the burden of governance”.
‘POLITICAL PARTIES MUST BREATHE’
He acknowledged that the ruling party needs the wisdom and
fresh ideas of those who have walked the long road of public service to keep it
alive to current demands and future uncertainties, noting that with Fintiri’s
well-established experience in governance, his entry into the APC was an
infusion of new thinking into the party ranks.
“Political parties, like nations, must breathe. They must
adapt. They must draw strength from diversity of thought if they are to endure.
This convergence, therefore, is not an end in itself; it is a renewal of
purpose, a renewal of hope,” Shettima said.
He further lauded the governor’s stewardship in Adamawa
state, saying the visible infrastructure projects attest to not only his
diligence and commitment but are also evidence of purposeful governance.
“They speak of a leadership that understands that governance
is measured in results. For this, Your Excellency, we salute your work ethic,
and we look forward to forging a partnership that advances not just Adamawa
State, but the entire nation,” Shettima said.
He, however, reminded party faithful that the task before
them, which is to build a political movement that remains the foremost choice
of Nigerians both by design and by performance, is greater than any individual.
Also speaking, Nantawe Yilwatda, APC national chairman,
commended the governor’s achievement in infrastructure, education, health and
other critical sectors of the economy in the state.
“Your Excellency, I am proud of you. You are too good to be
in the opposition. You are good to belong to the progressives, Your Excellency,
you are welcome to where you rightly belong,” he stated.
‘I JOINED APC TO ALIGN WITH TINUBU’S GOOD POLICIES’
In his remarks, Fintiri said he joined the APC to realign
with the good policies and programmes of the Tinubu administration.
“Mr. President has done so much and has put the country on a
recovery path, especially the microeconomic policies of the administration,”
Fintiri said.
“So, we have come with a good number to support him and
support the APC to win the 2027 elections.”
The governor assured that with him in the state, the road to
2027 will not be bumpy for the APC and Tinubu, even as he promised a landslide
victory for the party.
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