Adamawa Governorship Race: Ribadu, Seven Others Step Down.

Adamawa Governorship Race: Ribadu, Seven
Others Step Down.

Eight out of the fourteen aspirants for the
Adamawa State Governorship election on the
platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP),
including Nuhu Ribadu, have stepped down.
They stepped down from the race in the early
hours of Friday after a marathon closed-door
meeting with the Senate President, David Mark, at
the Presidential Villa.
Following the impeachment of the former
Governor, Murtala Nyako, October 11 was fixed
for the election of a substantive governor for the
state.
The Senate President, alongside the PDP National
Working Committee (NWC) of the party in Abuja,
had intervened to forestall looming crisis ahead of
the party’s primary election scheduled to hold on
Saturday in the state.
The meeting with the aspirants, which lasted
about four hours, started by 9.06 p.m on
Thursday and ended around 1.00 a.m on Friday.
It was held at the Banquet Hall of the State
House.
At the meeting, it was gathered that Mr. Mark,
alongside other officials of the party, were able to
reach a consensus with the aspirants and
succeeded in pruning down the number of those
contesting from fourteen to six.
The six aspirants still in the race for the party’s
governorship ticket on Saturday are Ahmed Gulak,
Buba Marwa, Ahmed Modibbo, Umar Ardo, Acting
Governor Umaru Fintiri, and Jerry Kumdisi.
Those who have withdrawn from the race include
Nuhu Ribadu; Auwal Tukur; Aliyu Idi Hong,
Andrawus Sawa; James Barka; GAliyu Kama;
Markus Gundiri and Abubakar Girei.
It was gathered that an agreement was reached
at the closed-door meeting that the six aspirants
contesting for the party’s ticket on Saturday will
not contest for the position in 2015.
The meeting also agreed that only those who
agreed to step down now can contest for the
party’s governorship election ticket in 2015, with
more consideration in 2015 for Adamawa Central
that has never produced a governor.
It was also agreed that any aspirant who fails to
win the party’s ticket in Saturday’s primary
election must support the party’s flag-bearer
towards the October 11 election.
Speaking with journalists at the end of the
meeting, the Chairman of the Adamawa State
chapter of the party, Joel Madaki said, “Fourteen
aspirants contesting for the position earlier has
now reduced to six aspirants due to this meeting.
It is a very welcome idea. Nobody was forced to
step them. Those who stepped down did so
voluntarily in order to wait to contest for the
position in 2015″.
He added that “The six aspirants contesting this
election are Ahmed Gulak, Buba Marwa, Ahmed
Modibbo, Dr. Umar Ardo, Acting Governor Umaru
Fintiri, and Jerry Kumdisi.”
The former Special Adviser to the President on
Political Affairs, Ahmed Gulak, who is also
contesting for the ticket on Saturday, said “The
outcome of the meeting was fantastic. We met as
family members of PDP, even before coming here
all the aspirants in Adamawa have unanimously
resolved that after the primaries, in a free, fair
primaries, anybody that emerges will get our
support.”
“Today, in this meeting, the number of the
aspirants have been drastically reduced to six,
which is manageable. I am contesting, Gen.
Marwa is contesting, Ahmed Modibbo is
contesting, Dr. Umar Ardo is contesting, Hon.
Jerry Kumdisi is contesting, and Acting Governor
Fintiri is contesting.
“And we have resolved to go into the primaries
without rancour, without acrimony and to come
out of it as peaceful co-existing members.”
“And at the end of it all, anybody that emerges,
we will all queue behind him. And if I emerge as
the candidate, they will all queue behind me. It is
going to be a family affair and there will be no
losers.”
On his chances of getting the ticket as Mr. Ribadu
and others were now out of the race, he said:
“Nuhu Ribadu or not, you know, I prepared for
this election. Even, if 14 of us are going into this
election, I am confident of my ability, of my
capability, of my mobilization, of my sensitization
that the delegates will select me.”
Aliyu Idi Hong, who is among those who withdrew
from the race, said: “Peace-building, negotiation,
give-and-take, everything went well. We have
been given a caveat and one thing we have
succeeded in extracting from this meeting is that
the meeting started with a preamble that whoever
is going to contest and if he happens to win as a
governor, he will not have the right to contest the
2015 election.”
“Some of us think that our aspirations, our
ambition, our vision for Adamawa is a long term
and more articulate vision and not a stop-gap
six”.