Adamawa Speaker Bathiya Wesley Rejects APC Exit Speculations

The Speaker of the Adamawa State House of Assembly, Bathiya Wesley, has refuted claims circulating that he intends to defect from the All Progressives Congress (APC) to the Action People’s Movement (APM). These speculations emerged barely 24 hours after Kabiru Mijinyawa, a former Speaker of the Adamawa State House of Assembly and current representative for Yola-South State Constituency, along with numerous supporters, left the APC to join the APM.

Mijinyawa had accused his former political party of practicing autocracy rather than democracy, alleging that the APC in Adamawa State was being managed like a private enterprise by a select few, to the detriment of its overall progress. His departure from the APC followed by two days the defection of hundreds of party stalwarts, spearheaded by Tahir Shehu, who also moved to the APM.

In an exclusive interview with PUNCH Online in Yola on Tuesday, an executive member of the APC, who requested anonymity due to not being authorized to speak to the press, suggested that the Speaker's rumored defection was motivated by a desire to secure a House of Representatives ticket, an opportunity he was reportedly denied within the APC. The source stated, “The speaker is defecting to pick his National Assembly ticket in APM he was contesting for House of Representatives, but some people use their office powers and send him away.”

This executive member further added, “If the speaker defects to APM he will win his election without stress, his people like him more than any politicians in Hong constituency, and he is performing his constitutional duties perfectly.”

However, Bernard Hyellamada, the Press Secretary to the Speaker, dismissed the defection claims as false information. He asserted that the Speaker had no intention of abandoning the APC, a party he has significantly invested his energy and resources in promoting. Hyellamada categorically stated, “Let me tell you categorically that the speaker is not going anywhere, he remain in APC till after 2027 general elections.”

The unnamed APC executive member also indicated that the root of the crisis within the Adamawa State chapter of the APC can be traced back to the primary elections, where, he alleged, candidates were chosen without adherence to due process.

PUNCH Online has gathered that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) faction within the APC may leverage the influence of the 21 local government chairmen and 206 ward councillors, who were elected on the PDP platform, as a decisive factor in the 2027 general elections in Adamawa State.