The Periscope Global editorial
There was the APC governorship primary election, duly and dutifully conducted in Adamawa state. This is undeniable. What could be considered for a critical conversation is the question that would there have been any need for the court judgement if it would have been known that the party rather than a candidate so challenged would be totally banned from participating in the governorship race?
From the beginning, there was the allegation of planned imposition of a candidate over and above other governorship contestants.
Some of the contestants who earlier rejected the idea of the party fielding a candidate by means of consensus have in a press conference jointly jettisoned the suspicious manipulation aimed to have them disenfranchised by any means attempt to replace the already certified delegates, while the lone lady in the race arguing based on ratio, held a position that should there be a room for a consensus candidate, she should be the beneficiary, being the odd among the equals, else the strength of candidates’ support for a primary mandate should be at the primacy of the poll to be determined by the real rather than imagined delegates.
To the polls, their fate in leadership was by party primary election subjected. It was adjudged to be free, without undue interference fair and keenly contested election. The seeming insignificant two votes observed as excesses were wished away. It would be incapable of altering the result that presented the lone lady as the winner with a rather wide margin.
Two of the candidates were said to have, at that moment, conceded defeat by congratulating the victory above the personality as earlier agreed, in the spirit of politics without bitterness by means of no victor no vanquished, all would work together for the success of the party.
The lone lady in the race, following the victory she was said to have generously dedicated to the party and the citizenry, has taken her foot to individual contestants soliciting for support and solidarity. While one has dedicated his genuine support with the promise to surrender his campaign facilities to facilitate the party’s governorship candidate campaign, another annoyingly left the party to pick a governorship ticket in another party, owing to what was regarded as abandonment by state party officials that failed to call and commend the contest and the contestants after the primaries, the third runner repeatedly threatened to leave the party he would later be pleased to refer to as NGO.
The most biting is that taken by the second runner to challenge the voting exercise, alleging vote buying and over voting, praying for the disqualification of the victory-lone-lady candidate and to call for a fresh governorship primary election.
The Bilal’s state leadership of the party with some party stakeholders was later reported to have paid a congratulatory visit to the distinguished Senator Aishatu Dahiru Ahmed, a.k.a Binani over the victory, suggesting solidarity endorsement.
It is however observed that the post Bilal leadership, along with the national vice chairman northeast of the party, did not have the interest of the lone lady as a governorship flag bearer, if a fresh primaries would succeed in having her substituted.
In partial answer to Malam Nuhu Ribadu’s prayer, not just the party’s governorship primary election but the party as a whole was by the Federal High Court sitting in Yola disqualified from participating in the governorship election. The harsh judgment on a Friday brings the three against one story.
The Anka judgement, based on technicalities, did not go down well with the women across the country and the youth in Adamawa state; expressing displeasure, the women and youth staged peace protest processions across the state, displaying banners, fliers and placards, chanting “No Binani No Election,” “Sai Matan Nan,” etc.
The trio; Ribadu himself, Binani and the APC national leadership appealed against the Federal High Court judgement as delivered.
The trio would want the appeal court, among other prayers, to set aside the lower court’s judgment that disallowed their party to participate in the governorship election.
Other prayers have presented the one against the two story; while Ribadu sought the court to call for a fresh primary election, Binani, joined by the national leadership of the APC urged the higher court to overrule the lower court judgement and reaffirm Binani as the APC bona-fide governorship candidate in Adamawa state for the 2023 general elections.
The ruling party in the state would wish that the APC stands disqualified from participating in the governorship election, which is the prayer of the opposition with the party, antagonistic to Binani’s candidature. It would be a walkover should the very prayers be answered.
However, the teeming electorates, dissatisfied with the act of governance in the state, would wish that Binani retains her mandate, for a bounced back hopes, being the most capable candidate to reclaim the Dougirei Hill; the party’s fresh primaries or anything but a disqualification of the victory-lone-lady candidate would be disastrously disinteresting.
It would rid teeming women and youth, especially the beneficiaries of social welfare schemes and other empowerment initiatives, the poor farmers whose harvests are blessed with the Binani fertilizer interventions among other agricultural equipments, worship places, trading centres, indigent patients, students from poor families, motorists and local communities who enjoy street electricity powered by solar and those who would have no need spending money on water vendors or drinking from unhygienic ponds because boreholes are provided just a door step distance, of their franchise, Lami Francis would lament.
However, in Adamawa state, it is the court of law that decides the next governor. The hope of the electorates lies in genuine prayers.