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Supporters of the impeached governor of Adamawa State, Murtala Nyako, have accused his successor, Ahmadu Fintiri, of “treachery”, vowing to prove that Mr. Fintiri once betrayed his party, the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, by defecting to the All Progressives Congress, APC. As Speaker of the state House of Assembly, Mr. Fintiri spearheaded the impeachment of Mr. Nyako, accused of corruption and mismanagement. Mr. Fintiri-led house also removed the deputy governor, Bala Ngilari, from office although the assembly failed to prove allegations against him. Mr. Fintiri, now the acting governor, is among the frontline candidates for the October bye-election for a new governor. His decision to contest has sparked anger with many accusing him of plotting a “coup” to take over the governorship seat. The acting governor denies he ever left the PDP. That claim has been countered by the secretary of the APC in the Adamawa State, Bakari Abdullahi. Mr. Abdullahi told PREMIUM TIMES, Saturday, that the party has evidence of Mr. Fintiri’s defection to the APC. Mr. Abdullahi said while he and other members of the APC have no intention to decamp, they will make available the evidence against Mr. Fintiri as a payback for his “treachery” against former Governor Nyako. “I am surprised that he denied being in APC, as the secretary of the APC in the state, I can authoritatively tell you that Fintiri was registered at his ward in Madagali, in fact we have shared the relevant documents with some PDP stakeholders,” Mr. Abdullahi said. “I understand they have forwarded a petition to the National Secretariat of the party. I am willing to throw more light on his hypocrisy and his treachery,” Mr. Abdullahi said. Party officials said Mr. Fintiri was one of two lawmakers — the other being Sajoh Gella — who defected to the Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN, — one of the parties that later formed the APC– prior to the 2011 election. “The two men were denied waiver to contest election under the PDP, until Governor Nyako personally intervened by going to Abuja to plead on their behalf,” spokesperson of Mr. Nyako, Ahmad Sajoh said. PREMIUM TIMES could not immediately confirm that claim. But Mr. Sajoh said at the time, the kinsmen of the acting governor, in Madagali, opposed his candidature, necessitating the transfer of the primary election to the state capital, Yola. Mr. Sajoh said despite the assistance of Mr. Nyako, Mr. Fintiri turned against the former governor by spearheading the impeachment of the Speaker at the time, Sadiq Dasin. The governor had wanted the speakership to be given to the central zone of the state in order to balance the power equation. Mr. Nyako, as governor, was from the South, his deputy, Mr. Ngillari, was from the north, while speaker, Mr. Dasin, was from the central part of the state. After the removal of Mr. Dasin, Mr. Fintiri took over the speakership despite being from the north, as the deputy governor. As speaker, Mr. Fintiri also led the impeachment of Mr. Nyako and his deputy, Mr. Ngillari over allegations of gross misconduct and financial fraud. The impeachment allowed Mr. Fintiri to emerge as acting governor. “It will be a disaster to have someone like Fintiri as governor, he is not fit lo lead a plural state like Adamawa,” said Mr. Sajoh. Mr. Sajoh said “Fintiri is known for his treacherous conducts”. “Few weeks to the impeachment of governor Nyako, Fintiri led members of the state House of Assembly to the Governor and passed a vote of confidence in him,” he recalled. “But he suddenly turned around to stab him in the back, it is important to remember that throughout those seven years of Nyako, Fintiri had been part of every decision the governor took.” Also, the spokesperson of the APC in the state, Phineas Padio, echoed the thoughts of his colleagues, saying Mr. Fintiri had no business even being acting governor. He said where the lawmakers had succeeded in impeaching the governor, there was no sufficient evidence against his deputy, Mr. Ngillari. He accused the acting governor of denying the deputy governor the chance to replace his boss simple because Mr. Ngillari is a Christian. “Fintiri removed Bala Ngilari simply because he is a Christian, otherwise, he would have been allowed to continue and complete the tenure of his principal. “Ngillari chose to remain in the PDP even after his governor defected just to show his loyalty to his party, but that loyalty did not save him from the hands of ambitious Fintiri. “It is regrettable that Christian members in the House of Assembly supported him against a fellow Christian,” Mr. Padio said.
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