The political atmosphere in Adamawa State has remained charged since Saturday following speculations that the name of the governorship candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Suleman Umar aka Omarana, has been replaced with that of Modibbo Hamman Tukur Ribadu on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) portal.

All parties were expected to upload the names of their governorship and state assembly candidates by Saturday, 8th in what would have been the final decision of the parties on the matter but the deadline was later extended to Tuesday, 11th.

Umar’s position became shaky following the exit of former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Babachir Lawal from the party as he was said to be the one that insisted on Umar as the party’s candidate though former vice president, Atiku Abubakar, had preferred another for the position.

The former SGF in a statement on his verified social media page yesterday, raised the alarm that, Umar had been replaced with a candidate who will do the bidding of the former vice president.

He claimed the ADC national secretariat has succumbed to the pressure of the former vice president and uploaded the name of the Tukur Modibbo instead to the INEC portal.

When INEC announced that it had pasted cleared candidates and their credentials from various political parties on notice boards across the states, our correspondent checked at the INEC Adamawa State office but couldn’t find list of governorship candidates and was informed it wasn’t ready from INEC headquarters in Abuja.

When our correspondents contacted the Atiku Media Office to respond, they were referred to the national vice chairman (North East) Daniel Bwala to respond.

But Bwala declined comment saying he would issue a statement later.

Our correspondent reports that this has deepened the crisis in the ADC in Adamawa State which is supposed to be one of the strongholds of the party given its position as the home state of the presidential candidate of the party.

The internal wranglings began in the state chapter during the composition of the party’s state executive council members where the party was factionalized with three persons, Comrade Shehu Yohannah, Alh Saidu Komsori and Ibrahim Sadiq Dasin claiming chairmanship of the party.

Political heavy weights said to be behind those interests included former Vice president Atiku Abubakar, former SGF David Lawan Babachir and Senator Aisha Ahmed Dahiru popularly known as Binani.

Binani and David Babachir however left the party out of protest at different times.

There have been speculations in the political arena long before now, that some stakeholders in the party are not comfortable with Omarana as the flag bearer of the party and have allegedly working secretly for his replacement until now that the matter has become a major issue within the party.

However, the campaign organisation of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) governorship candidate in Adamawa State, Amb. Engr. Umar Suleiman, issued a press statement insisting that Umar remains the candidate of the party amidst rumoured adoption of Modibbo Hamman Tukur Ribadu as the new candidate of the party.

The statement came on the heels of social media posts which portrayed Ribadu as the new candidate of the party ostensibly after the NWC resolved issues pertaining to the party’s governorship primaries in his favour.

In a strongly worded position, the campaign office described the narrative as baseless and unfounded, urging party members and supporters to disregard it as it has no basis in law and democracy.

The statement signed by elder Mark Wosi, the DG, Omarana campaign, insisted that the ADC governorship candidate emerged through the party’s recognised primary process and continues to enjoy the confidence of its supporters across Adamawa State.

It warned that attempts to undermine the outcome of the primary could create unnecessary tension within the party and distract the ADC from its preparations for the election.

Wosi also called on the party’s leadership and stakeholders to uphold internal democracy and respect the outcome of the primary, stressing that the credibility of the ADC’s electoral process must remain paramount.

According to the campaign office, Omarana’s political project remains anchored on its catchphrase “Adamawa That Works” agenda, with emphasis on inclusive governance, human capital development, economic empowerment and grassroots development.

It urged supporters not to be distracted by unverified claims, assuring them that the campaign would continue its engagements with voters across the state’s 21 local government areas.

But another piece said to be written by one Aminu Iyawa titled “Has ADC Produced A Game-Changer to Adamawa Guber Race?” claimed that INEC has successfully uploaded the name of Modibbo Hamman Tukur Ribadu and his deputy governorship candidate on its official portal.

Efforts to speak to the leadership of the party were not successful. An official of the party who pleaded anonymity told Daily Trust that the state chapter can’t say anything on the matter but the National headquarters of the party in Abuja maintaining that they too are waiting for further instructions from the national body.

Ambassador Suleiman Umar, when contacted, replied to an SMS message from our correspondent saying “As you said speculation for now. By tomorrow (Monday) we will get the facts. l have saved your number. Will contact you. I will make press release”.

Modibbo Hamman Tukur Ribadu was the pioneer chief executive officer of the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU), appointed by the late President Muhammadu Buhari in 2019.

Before then, he had worked with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), and rose through the ranks up to Assistant Director before he was nominated by president Buhari, and subsequently approved by the Senate, to head the then newly established agency.

National Publicity Secretary of the ADC, Malam Bolaji Abdullahi also did not respond to our message on the matter. (Daily Trust)

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