ADC JIGAWA PRIMARIES SUSPENDED OVER INSECURITIES, VIOLENCE
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BY JENN NOMAMIUKOR
Confusion and stress spread through the African Democratic Congress in Jigawa State on Wednesday. Claims of unfair practices, violence, and poor conduct led officials to stop the process of collecting results for the State House of Assembly, House of Representatives, Senate, governorship, and presidential elections for now.
Zaki Ahmed, the Chief Returning Officer, who came from the ADC national office to manage the process, told reporters at the Tashir Guests Palace in Dutse, where the event was taking place, that the issues were not resolved and the work could not go on.
He said results from 19 out of 27 local government areas had been received, but officials were still waiting for submissions from Auyo, Roni, and Kazaure.
Ahmed mentioned that there were serious problems in several areas during the process.
“There were reports of irregularities and malpractice in some local governments, while Gwaram witnessed threats of violence capable of disrupting the process completely,” he said.
“In Guri Local Government, there was no election at all due to conflict among factional leaders of the party. Because of these developments, we have decided to suspend the collation exercise,” he stated.
The troubled exercise began last Monday across the 27 local government areas of the state but quickly became mired in controversy, with reports of intimidation, factional disputes, cancellation of results and disruption of voting emerging from several councils as the process unfolded.
For over 48 hours, the ADC electoral committee did not announce any winners, which made party supporters, loyal members, officials, and delegates very worried.
It was found out that the problem started from a closely fought governorship primary between Hon. Adamu Jumbo and Senator Sabo Nakudu.
Recently, Senator Nakudu left the ruling APC and joined the ADC, taking hundreds of supporters with him across the state.
An election observer, Mr. Dayyabu Musa, who spoke exclusively with the PUNCH, said “The suspension followed days of tension and political horse-trading within the party, as rival camps accused one another of attempts to manipulate delegates.”
Musa, who said he spent over 48 hours at the collation venue, described the atmosphere as charged, with security operatives drafted to maintain order amid growing anxiety.
Despite the setbacks, Ahmed said the collation would resume after the Eid-el-Kabir prayers, with party officials expected to reconvene at the same venue by 2pm to continue the process and possibly declare a winner.
He commended party members, security personnel and electoral officials for their cooperation throughout the exercise.
“We appreciate the understanding and support of everyone involved. God bless you all,” he added.
The development comes after the ADC conducted its primary elections across the country last Saturday to pick candidates for various positions ahead of the 2027 general elections.
The crisis in the ADC’s Jigawa State primaries is a microcosm of the broader challenges that have dogged Nigeria’s opposition parties as they attempt to build credible structures capable of challenging the dominant APC and PDP ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Internal democracy has historically been one of the weakest links in Nigerian party politics, with primaries frequently descending into chaos, litigation and open conflict that leave parties weakened and divided at the very moment they need to be consolidating their strength.
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