ADAMAWA State Governor, Ahmadu Fintiri, on Friday, February 27, defected from the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), becoming the 30th serving governor in the party.

In a statewide broadcast, Fintiri announced that he moved to the APC alongside members of his cabinet and PDP officials in the state.

He said the decision was taken in the overall developmental interest of the state and its people.

Fintiri’s defection came weeks after Kano State Governor, Abba Kabir Yusuf, joined the APC as the 29th governor under the party, following his resignation from the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP) over alleged internal crises and leadership disputes.

Yusuf’s move had triggered a wave of defections in Kano, including state lawmakers and local government chairmen, significantly weakening the NNPP’s structure in the state.

With Fintiri’s switch, the current governorship standings as of January 2026 show the APC controlling 30 states, while the PDP has three governors.

The All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Labour Party, and Accord Party have one governor each.

The addition of Fintiri as the 30th APC governor continues to strengthen the party’s influence in northern Nigeria, consolidating its reach in a region that offers huge votes during elections.

Beyond that, Fintiri’s defection carries significant political impact as Adamawa is widely regarded as the political base of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, the PDP’s presidential candidate in the 2023 election, and a major chieftain of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), who might have another shot at the Presidency for the seventh time.

Several online commentators suggested that the wave of defections is likely to influence both state and national politics, giving APC a strategic advantage in key regions ahead of the 2027 polls.

The ICIR reports that there have also been concerns among political analysts that the shrinking number of opposition governors could result in a de facto one-party state in the country, as the APC steadily consolidates power under the Tinubu’s leadership.

Mustapha USMAN

Mustapha Usman is an investigative journalist with the International Centre for Investigative Reporting. You can easily reach him via: musman@icirnigeria.com. He tweets @UsmanMustapha_M