Adamawa State set for first female governor

The 2023 general elections is set to be significant in view of the evolving scenario that points towards the attainment of a new milestone in the nation’s political history. Adamawa State is set to go down in history as the first state in Nigeria to have a female governor in Aisha Dahiru Ahmad of the All Progressive Congress (APC).

Aisha Binani is known with a variety of names to the people of Adamawa State as a result of the support and assistance she has been giving and still gives the people. Many call her ‘Maman mu’ which means ‘our mother’ and others simply call her ‘Uwar marayu’, meaning, ‘mother to the orphans’ or the less privileged. What makes her popular in Adamawa State is her support for women, youth empowerment and community development.

Anyone following the activities of Binani in Adamawa State will attest to the fact that nearly 90 percent of her interventions are about women and youth empowerment; her priority has been women and children. And the womenfolk in Adamawa have not failed her as they rallied and supported their own during the APC gubernatorial primaries which was held in May.

nani who emerged victorious at the primary election scored 430 votes to defeat her closest rival and a former chairman of EFCC, Nuhu Ribadu who had 288 votes while the former governor of the state, Bindow Jibrilla came third with 103 votes. Her victory at the primary election did not come as a surprise to many in view of Binani’s popularity and the support from the women delegates.

Looking at the composition of the delegates, one may not be wrong by assuming that about 70 per cent of the women delegates gave Binani their votes.

Under the APC guidelines, every ward must have five delegates and out of which two must be women; this apparently favoured Binani. She scored 430 votes in the primary election. This is the first-time women were united to cast their vote to one of their own and this solidarity has unsettled the political class in the state.

By this feat, Binani has already made it into history as the first female flag bearer of a major political party in Adamawa State and the second in Nigeria.

The support given to Binani by the women of Adamawa and her eventual victory at the APC primary election made the ruling PDP in the state to re-strategize to ensure they are re-elected in 2023. Following this development, Governor Fintiri had to drop his deputy governor for a female running mate for the elections.

One of the biggest hurdles before Aisha Ahmad Binani before the 2023 elections is within the APC itself and if members of the party can put aside their differences, I think her victory is certain. This will put Adamawa State in the history books as the first state in Nigeria to produce a female governor. I am beginning to imagine the kind of newspapers headlines/captions that will herald her victory in 2023 and I believe editors are already at work.