Former Speaker of the Adamawa State House of Assembly, Kabiru Mijinyawa, has withdrawn his from the All Progressives Congress (APC) to the Action People’s Movement in Adamawa State.
Mijinyawa, the serving lawmaker representing Yola South State Constituency, said that his move, alongside thousands of his supporters to takes immediate effect, citing cases of his displeasure over APC’s handling of its internal affairs as reason for withdrawing his membership from the party.
His withdrawal letter made available on Monday and addressed to the Adamawa State chairman of the APC, disclosed concerns over the party’s decision-making process and the conduct of its recent primaries.
He said the APC’s latest primary elections showed that the party was not operating a transparent internal democratic system.
“The recent APC primary elections in Adamawa State were a demonstration that the party lacks internal democracy; people were picked as candidates without due process,” Mijinyawa said.
His departure came two days after another group of APC chieftains, led by former party chairman Tahir Shehu, also moved to the APM.
Shehu had previously called on the APC leadership to resolve disputes among its members and rebuild confidence ahead of the 2027 general elections.
The series of defections has added a fresh dimension to political activities in Adamawa, particularly with the emergence of Abdulraman Haske as the APM governorship candidate.
Haske was alleged to have initially won the APC governorship primary before Ahmad Galadima was named as the party’s candidate.
Changes also affected the APC’s senatorial contests. Abdulraman Abbati, who was reportedly the sole aspirant for the Adamawa Central seat, was replaced by Salihu Mustapha, while Peter Fwa was replaced by Felix Tangwami in the Southern Senatorial District.
Fwa later left the APC for the Labour Party with thousands of supporters.
Reacting to the growing defections, APC publicity secretary in Adamawa State, Dogo Victor, described the development as “political tourism.”
Dogo questioned the electoral influence of some of the defectors, arguing that their previous performances did not reflect substantial grassroots support.
He also expressed confidence that the APC would win the 2027 elections, citing the performance of the administration of Governor Ahmadu Fintiri and insisting that the party remained strong at the grassroots.
However, when reminded that former Governor Jibrilla Bindow lost to Fintiri while serving as governor, Dogo ended the telephone conversation.