Adamawa on course to produce first female governor after Senator Binani wins APC ticket

NIGERIA could be on course to get her first female elected governor next year after Senator Aishatu Binani emerged as the winner of the All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship primaries in Adamawa State.

Currently the lawmaker representing the Adamawa Central Senatorial District, Senator Binani, 50, beat five other male contenders to clinch the ticket. According to the presiding officer for the poll, she scored 430 votes to defeat her closest rival, the former chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Nuhu Ribadu, who got 288 votes.

Other contestants in the race were the immediate past Adamawa State governor Jibrilla Bindow, House of Representatives member Hon Abdulrazak Namdas, Wafari Theman and Umar Mustapha. Former governor Bindow came third with 103 votes, Hon Namdas had 94 votes, Mr Theman had 21 votes and Mr Mustapha scored 39 votes.

Gambo Lawal, the chairman of the APC Adamawa State Electoral Committee, announced the results, pointing out that 36 votes were  invalid. Senator Binani’s success makes her only the second female flag bearer of a major political party in Nigeria.

Aisha Alhassan, the late former minister of women's affairs, was the first to tow the path, becoming the APC candidate in the Taraba state governorship election in 2015. Although she lost the election to Ishaku Darius, she challenged his victory at the court of appeal and supreme court but lost her case.