The Governor of Adamawa State, Ahmadu Fintiri, has directed political office holders serving in his administration to either join the All Progressives Congress (APC) or resign from their positions.
According to reports, affected appointees have been given 48 hours to comply with the directive or vacate their offices.
The governor’s position was conveyed in a statement issued on Wednesday by his Chief Press Secretary, Humwashi Wonosikou.
The statement warned that political appointees who refuse to join the APC could face dismissal from their positions.
According to Wonosikou, the directive was introduced to maintain loyalty within the administration, strengthen discipline, and protect the integrity of public service.
He stated: “All political office holders serving in this administration who have publicly declared allegiance to, or defected to, other political parties are to immediately resign their appointments.
“This directive has become necessary to preserve government loyalty, discipline, and the integrity of public service.”
The governor maintained that political appointees are expected to support the policies, programmes and political direction of the administration they serve.
He argued that continued membership of other political parties by serving appointees could undermine the activities of the government.
The statement further read: “Continued service by persons who have aligned with another party poses a clear risk of sabotage, information leakage, and obstruction of policy implementation and party strategy.
“All affected appointees are hereby mandated to submit their letters of resignation to the Office of the Secretary to the State Government within 48 hours of this directive.
“Furthermore, the Office of the Secretary to the State Government and the Office of the Head of Service are directed to compile, verify, and submit a comprehensive list of all affected political appointees for compliance monitoring.
“Failure to comply with this directive within the stipulated timeframe shall result in immediate termination of appointment, cessation of all salaries, entitlements, and benefits, and further administrative action.
“This is a clear message that public office is held in trust and must align with the vision, agenda, and mandate of the administration. Government cannot condone divided loyalty in the discharge of public trust.”
The governor also directed the Office of the Secretary to the State Government and the Office of the Head of Service to monitor compliance with the directive.
The development comes after Fintiri recently left the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for the APC.
Reports indicate that while some political appointees moved with the governor to the APC, others have remained in the PDP, while some have reportedly aligned with other political parties in the state.
