Galadima wins Adamawa APC governorship primary, Haske fumes

Ahmed Galadima, formerly the Executive Secretary of the Petroleum Technology Development Fund (PTDF), has emerged victorious in the All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship primary election held in Adamawa State. The chairman of the APC governorship primary election committee, Innocent Bariko, announced Galadima's win in Yola on Friday, stating he garnered 414,444 votes.

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It was surprising that while we were waiting for the collation of the votes to happen; what happened to our greatest surprise was declaration of the winner. We have our data and we would consult and state our position over the weekend.

Abdulrazak Namdas, a member of the House of Representatives, secured the second position with 86,004 votes, while Abdulrahman Haske trailed in third place with 65,424 votes. Galadima's win was bolstered by the last-minute withdrawal and endorsement of several other aspirants, including Diaulhaq Abubakar, Mustapha Salihu, and Ibrahim Thul, who demonstrated what Galadima described as "maturity and commitment to party unity."

However, the transparency of the electoral process has been questioned by Abdulrahman Haske. Before the official declaration, Haske's campaign team released their own figures, asserting he led with 555,427 votes from 216 wards. Haske voiced concerns regarding the absence of proper vote collation in some local government areas, irregularities at polling units, and restricted access to the collation process. "It was surprising that while we were waiting for the collation of the votes to happen; what happened to our greatest surprise was declaration of the winner. We have our data and we would consult and state our position over the weekend," Haske stated, urging calm among his supporters.

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the integrity of the process is as important as the outcome.

Political analysts are observing the unusually high vote totals, particularly given reports of low turnout in several areas, which could potentially lead to post-primary grievances. The APC in Adamawa now faces the challenge of reconciling disgruntled aspirants and their supporters to prevent internal divisions ahead of the general election. This primary follows the recent defection of incumbent Governor Ahmadu Fintiri from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the APC, making the outcome a significant indicator of shifting political alliances within the state and testing the ruling party's internal democratic mechanisms.

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thanked party leaders, supporters, and the aspirants who stepped down, for what he described as a demonstration of maturity and commitment to party unity.