The presidency has advised former Vice President Atiku Abubakar to consider retiring from partisan politics and relocating to his “second home in Dubai” following the defection of Adamawa State Governor Ahmadu Fintiri from the Peoples Democratic Party to the All Progressives Congress.
Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, delivered the pointed message in a social media post on Friday, February 27, describing Fintiri’s defection as a devastating blow to Atiku’s presidential ambitions.
Onanuga said the governor’s departure had effectively handed Atiku’s entire home base to President Bola Tinubu’s party.
“Big Blow for Atiku in Adamawa: Fintiri joins APC, making Tinubu’s party a juggernaut in the state,” Onanuga wrote.
“All members of his cabinet, lawmakers and other PDP officials in the state moved with him to the APC, thus fortifying the APC’s advantage and presence in the state,” he added.
The presidential spokesman said the defection had serious implications for Atiku’s political future, particularly with the presidential election now less than a year away.
“With the presidential election less than a year away, Fintiri’s defection is surely a big blow to veteran presidential runner Atiku Abubakar,” Onanuga said.
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He dismissed the strength of Atiku’s current political platform, the African Democratic Congress, in the state.
“His ADC is largely unknown in the state. He certainly needs to reassess his ambition, as his governor has turned the APC into an Adamawa juggernaut,” Onanuga said.
The presidential aide argued that a politician who lacks support at home has no business seeking the highest office in the country.
“If a politician is not so popular at home, he has no business selling his candidacy to outsiders. The time is nigh for Atiku to consider retiring from politics and going to his second home in Dubai,” Onanuga said.
Atiku, who has contested the presidency multiple times, most recently in 2023 on the PDP platform, moved to the ADC alongside other opposition figures in recent months.
He has been a vocal critic of the Tinubu administration and has positioned himself as a key player in opposition efforts ahead of 2027.
Fintiri’s defection to the APC on Friday came with his entire cabinet, 15 out of 16 PDP lawmakers in the state House of Assembly, and party officials across the state’s 21 local government areas and 226 wards, effectively dismantling the PDP structure in Adamawa.
Neither Atiku nor his representatives had responded to the presidency’s remarks as of the time this report was filed.