Vice President Kashim Shettima has assured Adamawa State Governor Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri and his teeming supporters that they were not joining the All Progressives Congress (APC) as strangers but as partners on a shared mission to build a Nigeria that works.
He said the governor’s entry into the governing party’s fold was a reminder that democracy could also be sustained “by the responsibility of political leaders to make choices that strengthen the system they serve,” and not only by the people’s hallowed mandate.
Shettima spoke on Monday in Yola, the Adamawa State capital, when he formally received Governor Fintri and his supporters into the APC on behalf of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
According to a release by his spokesman, Stanley Nkwocha, addressing the mammoth crowd that gathered at the Mahmud Ribadu Square, venue of the grand reception, the Vice President told the new party entrants that their arrival was an alignment with a vision that placed Nigerians at the centre of governance as well as a party that understood that power was not an end, but a responsibility.
“On behalf of His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, I extend a warm and sincere welcome to you, Governor Fintiri, and to all your supporters who have made this journey today.
“You are not strangers to this house. You are partners in a shared mission—to build a nation that works, a democracy that delivers, and a future that rewards the aspirations of our people,” he stated.
Shettima described democracy as the marketplace of choices, “where preferences are tested, where convictions are weighed, and where the will of the people finds expression,” noting that under Tinubu, the APC has shown progressive leadership.
“I am therefore excited to join you in yet another endorsement of the progressive politics the All Progressives Congress has demonstrated under the leadership of His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu,” he said, adding that they were in Yola because the party “has become a platform worthy of the trust of Nigerians.”
Shettima observed that the mass exodus from other political parties to the APC fold was an indication “that when given alternatives, the people will always gravitate towards structure, towards vision, towards order, and towards a party that understands the burden of governance.
Acknowledging that the governing party needed the wisdom and fresh ideas of those who have walked the long road of public service to keep it alive to current demands and future uncertainties, the Vice President said, armed with a well-established experience in governance, Fintiri’s entry into the APC was an infusion of new thinking into the party ranks.
“Political parties, like nations, must breathe. They must adapt. They must draw strength from diversity of thought if they are to endure. This convergence, therefore, is not an end in itself; it is a renewal of purpose, a renewal of hope,” he added.
The Vice President lauded Fintri’s stewardship in Adamawa State, saying the roads, public works, and other quiet signs of development that greet every visitor on arrival in Yola not only testified to governor’s diligence and commitment but were also evidence of purposeful governance he had demonstrated.
“They speak of a leadership that understands that governance is measured in results. For this, Your Excellency, we salute your work ethic, and we look forward to forging a partnership that advances not just Adamawa State, but the entire nation,” he told the governor.
Shettima, however, reminded party faithful that the task before them, which was to build a political movement that remained the foremost choice of Nigerians both by design and by performance, was greater than any individual.
Earlier, the APC National Chairman, Prof. Nantawe Yilwatda, praised Fintiri for infrastructure development in Adamawa State.
