Defection to APC won’t affect my ties with Atiku – Fintiri

Governor Umaru Fintiri has insisted that his relationship with former Vice President Atiku Abubakar remains intact despite his recent defection to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).

Fintiri, who recently dumped the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for the APC, said politics has not created a rift between him and the former vice president, both of whom hail from Adamawa State.

“I still have. There is nothing that has gone bad. It is just that everybody has taken their political ways, and I am today in APC, they are in another party,” the governor said on Tuesday during an appearance on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily.

Atiku, who served as Nigeria’s vice president, is eyeing the presidency again in 2027 and has aligned with the African Democratic Congress (ADC).

Fintiri, however, maintained that while political alignments may differ, personal relationships remain unchanged.

On the zoning arrangement in Nigeria’s politics, the Adamawa governor backed the continuation of the informal power-sharing agreement between the North and South.

According to him, the South should complete eight years in office before power returns to the North. President Bola Tinubu, who is from the South, is currently in his first term.

“A northerner has no business at the moment to vie for the office of the president,” Fintiri said.

“It is the South’s turn; they should complete their eight years if we are really serious about this country and leadership.”

Fintiri’s move to the APC makes him one of the latest high-profile politicians to join the ruling party, increasing the number of APC governors to 31.