“My APC Exit Was Principled, Not Personal” — APM Candidate Haske Says Adamawa Deserves Genuine Path Forward

By Emmanuel Kwada

The governorship candidate of the Allied Peoples Movement (APM) in Adamawa State, Abdulrahman Bashir Haske, has said his decision to leave the All Progressives Congress (APC) was based on principle and not personal grievances, insisting that he gave the party sufficient opportunity to resolve the issues arising from its governorship primary.

Haske, who has since emerged as the APM governorship candidate for the 2027 election, said he remained open to reconciliation for almost three months after the APC primary, engaging party leaders and stakeholders in the hope of finding a fair and inclusive resolution.

He said his efforts were guided by the belief that reconciliation should be based on sincerity, fairness, respect and due process.

“After the APC primaries, we gave reconciliation a genuine opportunity. We engaged with party leaders and stakeholders, participated in discussions and allowed room for dialogue,” Haske said.

According to him, his eventual decision to leave the APC was not motivated by anger, personal ambition or media attention, but by his conviction that the reconciliation process was no longer providing a credible path forward.

“My decision to leave the APC was therefore not personal or media-driven; it was a principled political decision shaped by the process and circumstances surrounding the primaries,” he said.

Haske also dismissed claims that he rejected attempts by APC leaders and other stakeholders to reconcile with him after the primary.

He said he was invited on several occasions to discussions aimed at resolving the disagreement and that he never shut the door to reconciliation.

“I was called five times to sit down and discuss and mend fences with the party,” he said.

The APM candidate said he had also publicly advocated for an honest reconciliation process during a television interview, stressing that any genuine effort must accommodate all sides.

“I advised on national television as well when I had an interview with the trustees that the reconciliation had to be honest and it would carry everybody along,” he said.

Haske argued that some of the approaches adopted during the reconciliation process were too rigid and failed to appreciate the nature of political negotiations.

“I think the party failed to understand that it is more like a political reconciliation rather than a military approach,” he said.

He, however, distinguished between his relationship with the APC’s national leadership and the political situation he encountered at the state level.

“With all due respect, I have never had any challenge with the party at the top, I would say at the national level,” Haske said.

He described President Bola Ahmed Tinubu as his leader and said he had continued to maintain respect for senior figures within the party.

According to him, the difficulties he experienced were largely connected to the dynamics among political actors at the state level.

“When we came back locally, we had leaders that saw this thing as, it is like you are with us or you are out of it,” he said.

Haske also acknowledged Governor Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri’s efforts to accommodate political stakeholders, saying the governor was among those who welcomed them and created room for engagement.

He recalled a conversation with Fintiri shortly before the APC primary, during which they discussed the expected process for selecting the party’s governorship candidate.

“Before the primaries, two or three nights before the primaries, the governor called. We had a discussion. There was going to be a rank of three primaries. Everybody should go and challenge or look for supporters to come out and vote,” he said.

Haske said, however, that the process that unfolded at the voting centres on the day of the primary was different from what he had expected.

“Only for us to go to the voting centres on the day of the primary, a different thing happened, but that’s a thing of the past,” he said.

Despite the disagreement, Haske said he did not immediately leave the APC because he wanted to give reconciliation a chance.

“I have in no way declined any reconciliation. In life, there is always room for reconciliation. And you can see we have stayed with the party,” he said.

He said he and his team continued to consult leaders and stakeholders for nearly three months after the primary.

“Almost three months after the primaries, we gave room for reconciliation. We sat down with some of my leaders, I would say stakeholders that I usually go to consult as well,” he said.

However, Haske said the reconciliation efforts eventually failed to produce the desired outcome, alleging that one of the meetings turned into what he described as “another set of drama” rather than a sincere effort to resolve the political differences.

“But after that meeting, I think it turned out to be another set of drama again. So it was rather not a genuine reconciliation approach,” he said.

Now contesting the 2027 governorship election on the platform of the APM, Haske said his focus has shifted from the internal affairs of the APC to what he believes should be a broader political conversation about the future of Adamawa State.

He maintained that his decision to move on was not about settling personal scores but about pursuing what he described as a more genuine political path for the people of the state.

“I have always respected the party, its leaders and the relationships built over the years. But when reconciliation no longer offers a genuine path forward, one must have the courage to make a principled choice,” Haske said.

His emergence as the APM governorship candidate adds another dimension to the growing political realignment ahead of the 2027 Adamawa governorship election, as candidates and political groups position themselves for the contest.

Read Also: “I’m Grateful for the Confidence”: Haske Thanks APM, Vows to Deliver Adamawa’s Future