by IBRAHIM MADA,
From all indications, the quest of governor Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri to succeed himself in the March 2023 Gubernatorial election has been sealed as the Gubernatorial ambition of his arch rival, Sen Aishatu Dahiru Binani keeps wobbling over serious contentious issues and moral questions staring her in the face.
On one hand, the only female Gubernatorial contender is facing humongous integrity questions over her past misdeeds including alleged theft of public resources and perverse immoral acts when she was a student.
The issue of her suitability in the eyes of many Islamic scholars also poses a great threat to her ambition as conservative Muslims in Adamawa and beyond are hell bent at ensuring that a women did not hold executive position in a Muslim dominated state like Adamawa.
Again, her ambition is facing another litmus test from her own party over intractable and unresolved differences that emanated from the contentious gubernatorial primaries that pitched the former chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) Malam Nuhu Ribadu against the Gubernatorial candidate which metamorphosed into a legal tussle between the two gladiators.
Another issue facing the APC candidate is the no love lost between her and the Adamawa State Presidential Campaign Council superintended by the former deputy governor of Adamawa State Martins Babale.
Right now the two sides do not see eye to eye because of this gaping cleavage which snowballed into a media war between Binani’s supporters and the members of the PCC.
Another reason for the envisage loss of Binani has to do with allegations of substance abuse which made most of the elites in the state to treat her ambition with a pinch of salt as they believe that if she emerged as governor, Adamawa State is going to loss substantial goodwill on account of electing a substance abuser.
Based on the foregoing, elites in the state are meeting surreptitiously to form a bipartisan front to ensure that the move of Binani to govern Adamawa State is truncated at all cost as that will set the clock of Adamawa’s development in the reverse direction as the state will lose both its goodwill and credibility before the committee of states.
Another serious issue that will dog the Binani quest to become Adamawa State governor is her herd line posture against a large creme of members of state working committee of APC whom she has since declared as enemies for taking sides against her during her legal tussle with Ribadu.
Again, the fear of a backlash if she wins the general election will make many amongst the members of the state working committee to resort to anti-party as many are of the opinion that if Binani win the election she is going to bring back her man Friday and stooge in the person of Ibrahim Bilal the former state chairman of the party who was removed over alleged humongous financial malfeasance.
A number of disgruntled party stalwarts including officials of the party at state and national levels have vowed to support governor Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri to finish his second tenure for the expediency of preventing what they consider as taboo from happening to Adamawa State.
Already some of these people are working seriously behind the clock to ensure Binani’s dreams and larger than life ambition is scuttled for its debilitating consequences. While some are working behind the curtains to ensure her ambition did not see the light of day some have openly indicated that they will never support her ambition.
One of the stalwarts that has resolved not to support Binani is the immediate past governor of the state Muhammadu Jibrilla Bindow who during a meeting with development area administrators in Mubi has resolved to support Fintiri in the Gubernatorial election.
Another APC stalwart that has towed Bindow’s line is his former commissioner for local government and chieftaincy affairs, Prince Mustpaha Barkindo Aliyu Mustapha who seems by all means and purporses is ready to take sides with his boss.
With the litany of issues dogging the ambition of Binani, her woeful defeat and the convincing victory of governor Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri come March 2023 is secured and sealed and it is only a matter of time for that dream to become a reality.
Middle-Belt Times 