PDP’s Hollow LGA Victory in Adamawa

June 21 () — The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, is celebrating its landslide victory in the Local Government Poll held in Adamawa State recently. But discerning Nigerians are asking questions. Which faction of the PDP in Adamawa? Is it the faction led by the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Nyesom Wike, which is recognised by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, or the aggrieved Taminu Turaki -led group? In fact, none of them has commented on the outcome of the LG election, let alone claim the victory.

Yet, at the swearing in of the elected Chairmen and Councillors on Tuesday, June 16, 2026, Governor Umaru Fintri described the election outcome as a reflection of the PDP’s grassroots support across the state and assured the chairmen of the government’s support in delivering development projects to their respective communities.

The swearing-in ceremony was held at Ribadu Square in Yola, where the Chief Judge of Adamawa State, Justice Hapsat Abdulrahaman, administered the oath of office and allegiance to the newly elected chairmen.

“The people you just swore to serve today have become not only wiser but bolder. They will follow their money and ask questions, demanding answers,” he said.

The newly inaugurated chairmen are: Akham Jaloh (Demsa), Shuaibu Babas (Fufore), Farouk Mohammed (Ganye), Adamu Umaru Dala (Girei), Mark Ishaya (Gombi), Kassah D. Shalom (Guyuk), Inuwa Usman (Hong), Salihu Mahmud Sa’o (Jada), Bulus Daniel (Lamurde), Simon Musa Shashi (Madagali), Abubakar Mustapha (Maiha), Umar Nashong (Mayo Belwa), Dan Biyu Paul Tumba (Michika), Musa Hassan (Mubi North), Hamidu A. Jingi (Mubi South), Innocent Koto (Numan), Abubakar Musa Abba (Shelleng), Idris Yahaya (Song), Sulaiman Gangkuba (Toungo), Jibril Ibrahim Jimeta (Yola North), and Salihu Usman Malkohi (Yola South).

gathered that the governor and the elected chairmen are playing Politics for the headlines. The reality, according to sources, would emerge in the fullness of time. The most glaring reasons for the party’s victory is purely administrative convenience.

Between January 11 and 23, 2026, ASIEC Chairman Umar supervised the screening of candidates for the LGA polls at the headquarters of the Commission in Yola; their tax clearance, credentials, particularly secondary school certificate. Candidates, mostly from the governing PDP then and the rival APC, attended the screening.

Then on Friday, February 27, 2026, Governor Fintiri defected from the PDP to the APC after months of speculation over his plans to defect as exclusively reported by .

That Friday, after a 14-minute statewide broadcast from his new governor’s office, announcing that he had decamped with his entire cabinet and all PDP officials, the flag of the PDP were removed in his office and across the Government House, thus erasing any trace of the party on whose platform he won election for two terms in office.

He said, “Fellow citizens of Adamawa State, I address you today in this manner due to the magnitude of what we have at stake, the regard we have for you and the consistent support we have always enjoyed from you. We have structures everywhere. We are moving into the APC with all the 226 wards, 21 local government areas, all elected and appointed members and indeed our energy and political machinery to confer benefits on our state, the nation and our people. I therefore call on all our supporters to fit in, register massively in the APC and gear up for a future that is assured.”

According to Fintiri, his defection alongside his cabinet and the party’s structures in all wards would enable the state to effectively support and leverage the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Tinubu, which, according to him, aims to transform the nation in critical sectors, including social welfare, infrastructure, housing and inclusive economic development.

He borrowed a philosophy of late President of the Senate, Dr. Chuba Okadigbo to justify his defection: “It was the late Senate President, Dr Chuba Okadigbo, who once said, ‘It takes political sagacity to know political arithmetic.’ In our case, we have been long enough in this game to know the value of our strength and the right steps to take. This isn’t elementary arithmetic; it is political geometry that places every number in its right place.

“In ideal democracies, alignments that confer mutual advantages are constant norms. Our alignment with the APC is a testament to strategic adaptability. It is sagacity in action. This is a reciprocally beneficial decision that reflects a pragmatic approach to Politics — conferring electoral value while delivering democratic dividends to the people,” he stated.

Offering his support, the state chairman of the Commissioners’ Forum, Mr Aloysius Babadoke, said all the commissioners had joined the APC in the state.

“Wherever our governor goes, we are going with him because he is a trusted leader and he has the mind to develop Adamawa State and unite the people through his people-oriented policies,” he said. The governor was registered in the APC with membership card number 001.

In tow, 15 out of the 16 elected members on the PDP platform in the state House of Assembly defected to the APC along with the Speaker, Bathiya Wesley.

Immediately, the Chairman of the state Chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Hamza Bello, resigned from his position and the party, with other members of the State Executive Council, including the 21 local government PDP chairmen, following suit.

Addressing journalists at the PDP Secretariat in Yola, the state capital, Bello and other exco members said their decision was in the best interest of Adamawa State, aimed at aligning with the political direction of Governor Fintiri and promoting stability in the state’s political landscape. So what has changed, analysts ask.? Nothing, they answer. It is the Politics of convenience, just for the books.

And that was what the Chairman of the ASIEC Umar, at the commission’s headquarters in Yola, did on Monday, June 15, 2026 when he announced the awaited results of postponed Local Government. He finally announced that the party swept all available 21 Chairmanship Councillorship seats and in all the 229 wards in the Northeast state.

Umar made the declaration in the presence of security personnel, election observers,

representatives of political parties and ADSIEC commissioner while announcing results for the outstanding Numan LGA conducted a day after with the PDP candidate Zidon Nzanyopwa emerging victorious having polled 19,179 votes to defeat his closest APC rival Bio Alexander who got 5,676 votes.

He commended the people of Adamawa State for their peaceful conduct and support throughout the electoral process, describing their cooperation as instrumental to the successful conduct of the polls. Umar also expressed appreciation to security agencies and other stakeholders for their contributions in ensuring that the elections were conducted peacefully and successfully across the state.

So, the LGA Chairmen who had already been screened and cleared for the LGA polls could not formally join the defection bandwagon. All eyes are on them now as the question is being asked, when would they formally join the Governor Fintiri in APC?