There is palpable uncertainty over the Adamawa State governorship ticket of the African Democratic Congress, ADC, with conflicting claims emerging over the party’s authentic flag bearer.
A correspondent who visited the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, office in Adamawa State following the commission’s announcement that cleared candidates and their credentials had been displayed across the states reportedly could not find the governorship candidate list.
An official at the state INEC office was said to have informed the correspondent that the relevant list had not yet been received from the commission’s headquarters in Abuja. The development has further heightened uncertainty over the status of the ADC governorship ticket.
Efforts to obtain an immediate reaction from the media office of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar were unsuccessful.
When contacted, the office reportedly directed inquiries to the ADC National Vice Chairman (North-East), Daniel Bwala. Bwala, however, declined to comment immediately, saying he would issue a statement at a later time.
The party’s National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, was also reportedly unresponsive to messages seeking clarification on the controversy.
Meanwhile, the campaign organization of Ambassador Suleiman Umar has rejected reports that Modibbo Hamman Tukur Ribadu had replaced Umar as the ADC governorship candidate in Adamawa.
In a statement signed by Mark Wosi, Director-General of the Omarana Campaign Organization, the campaign described the reports as baseless and unfounded.
The organization maintained that Umar emerged through what it described as the party’s recognized primary process and remains the ADC’s governorship candidate in the state.
It urged party members and supporters to disregard what it called unverified reports concerning an alleged replacement.
According to the campaign, any attempt to overturn the outcome of the primary could create unnecessary tension within the party and divert attention from its preparations for the election.
Wosi called on ADC leaders and stakeholders to respect the outcome of the primary and uphold the principles of internal democracy.
Despite the controversy, the Omarana campaign organization said its political activities would continue across Adamawa State.
The campaign said its political project was built around an “Adamawa That Works” agenda, which it described as focusing on inclusive governance, human capital development, economic empowerment and grassroots development.
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The organization also assured supporters that its engagement with voters would continue across the state’s 21 local government areas despite the uncertainty surrounding the party’s governorship ticket.
The controversy took another turn following a separate report attributed to Aminu Iyawa, titled “Has ADC Produced a Game-Changer to Adamawa Guber Race?”
The report claimed that INEC had uploaded the name of Modibbo Hamman Tukur Ribadu, alongside his deputy governorship candidate, to its official portal.
However, the claim has not been independently confirmed by INEC or the ADC national leadership. Attempts to obtain an official explanation from the party were reportedly unsuccessful.
An ADC official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, reportedly said the state chapter was not in a position to comment on the matter and that the national headquarters in Abuja was also awaiting further direction from the party’s leadership.
Ambassador Suleiman Umar, when contacted by a correspondent, acknowledged that the controversy remained largely based on speculation.
Responding to an SMS, Umar said the facts surrounding the matter were expected to become clearer the following day and indicated that he would issue a press statement.
His response suggests that the candidate and his campaign organization are awaiting formal clarification from either the ADC national leadership or electoral authorities.
The dispute over the governorship ticket comes against the backdrop of longstanding disagreements within the Adamawa chapter of the ADC.
The internal crisis reportedly dates back to the composition of the party’s state executive council, when Comrade Shehu Yohannah, Alhaji Saidu Komsori and Ibrahim Sadiq Dasin separately laid claim to the chairmanship of the state chapter at different stages.
The disagreements have also involved several prominent political figures, including former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, former Secretary to the Government of the Federation Babachir Lawal and Senator Aisha Ahmed Dahiru, popularly known as Binani.
Binani and Babachir Lawal subsequently left the party at different times amid reported disagreements over developments within the ADC.
There had also been speculation that some party stakeholders were dissatisfied with Umar’s emergence as the governorship candidate and were allegedly seeking his replacement. The latest controversy has brought those longstanding divisions back into focus.
Modibbo Hamman Tukur Ribadu is a financial intelligence and anti-corruption expert who served as the pioneer Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit, NFIU.
He was appointed to lead the agency in 2019 following its establishment as an independent institution. Before joining the NFIU, Ribadu worked with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, where he rose to the position of Assistant Director.
Reports linking him to the ADC governorship ticket have consequently generated considerable interest in political circles in Adamawa.
For now, the identity of the ADC’s final governorship candidate remains unsettled based on the conflicting claims contained in the reports.
While the Omarana campaign continues to insist that Suleiman Umar remains the party’s legitimate flag bearer, reports claiming that Ribadu’s name has been uploaded to the INEC portal have created uncertainty among party members and supporters.
The absence of an immediately available candidate list at the Adamawa INEC office has further complicated the situation.
Attention is now focused on the ADC national leadership and INEC for an official clarification. Until either the electoral commission or the party formally confirms the final candidate list, the reported replacement of Umar by Ribadu remains unverified.
The outcome could have significant implications for the ADC’s electoral strategy in Adamawa, particularly given the state’s importance to the party and the involvement of prominent political figures in the ongoing internal crisis.
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