Hope rises for Senator Aisha Dahiru in Adamawa State as she will have another shot at the highest seat in the state, following the declaration of the result there as inconclusive.
But in Zamfara State a political tsunami erupted with the sack of Governor Bello Matawalle by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate, Dauda Lawal.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared Lawal the governor-elect with a total of 377,726 votes, while Matawalle of the All Progressives Congress (APC) polled 311,976.
In Adamawa, the inconclusive election is also a window of opportunity that the womenfolk in the state, and indeed Nigeria, have been looking for to put a huge foot in the door of the male-dominated politics of the land.
But Senator Aisha Dahiru, often called Binani, described as a giant-killer, will have to contend with the political machinery of Governor Fintiri, backed by former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, who believes he must deliver his state to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), on which platform he contested the February 25 presidential election, and is contesting the victory of President-elect Bola Tinubu in court.
Another mountain Binani has to surmount, which she did in the past, is the culture of men in her part of the country frowning at a woman leading them.
“There is also the fear of other ethnic nationalities preferring her Fulbe stock ruling over them. They would prefer any other, but the Fulbe, which they see as their tormentors. That is the truth,” a medical consultant volunteered on Sunday.
“The prominent traditional ruler in the state and others see her battle as that of their race, and she has a huge cash outlay at her disposal, but the emotions are strong on all sides,” he added.
Recall that INEC on Monday night declared the March 18 governorship election in Adamawa inconclusive.
Prof. Mohammed Mele, the state INEC returning officer said the election was cancelled in 47 registration areas, 69 polling Units with the total number of 41,796 registered voters.
“The number of Permanent Voter Cards (VCs) from the affected polling units in the different Local Government Areas (LGAs) affected is 37,016.
“After the collation we calculated the total number of votes with the two leading candidates with the highest votes, APC with 390,275 and PDP with 421, 524 votes.
“So this gives us the margin of 31,249 and the total number of PVCs collected in the places amounts to 37,916,” he said.
Everyday.ng projects that if all those with PVCs come out to vote on the rescheduled date, at least 31,248 must vote for Binani for her ambition…and dream of the womenfolk to be realised.
That may be a near-impossible task.
