File image: Jigawa ADC cheiftain, Nasiru Laraba.
A chieftain of the African Democratic Congress in Jigawa State, Nasiru Laraba, has warned that the emergence of the Peoples Democratic Party governorship candidate, Mustapha Lamido, poses a serious threat to the ADC’s chances in the 2027 general elections.
PUNCH Online learnt that Laraba’s warning came amid intensified political activities and early campaigns by political parties across the country, including Jigawa State, ahead of the 2027 elections.
The chieftain made the remarks while featuring on a special Hausa political programme aired by Freedom Radio Dutse on Saturday.
According to him, the PDP is gaining momentum and could frustrate the ADC if the internal crisis rocking the party is not urgently addressed.
Laraba cited the massive turnout at the inauguration of the 45-member PDP governorship campaign council in the state last Friday as evidence of the party’s strength.
He said, “We saw what happened at the inauguration of the PDP campaign council. The turnout was massive, and that shows PDP is still very strong. That emergence is a threat to ADC.”
The ADC chieftain admitted that the party was facing an internal crisis that was weakening its position in the state.
He blamed the crisis on the selfishness of some party leaders who, he said, had refused to put the party’s interests first.
Laraba said one of the major problems was the failure to resolve the lingering dispute over the position of deputy governor.
He explained that the party and its governorship candidate had endorsed and prepared Aminu Ringim as running mate, while the Independent National Electoral Commission had already published another name on its final candidate list.
“This deputy governor issue is yet to be resolved by the party. We have two faces now, and INEC has already posted one name, but our candidate remained silent. This is a confusion,” Laraba stated.
He said the crisis had continued to create divisions among members and supporters across the state’s 27 local government areas.
Laraba also lamented what he described as the abandonment of the party’s early founding members, including Hon. Adamu Jumbo.
He said Jumbo was among those who brought the ADC to Jigawa State and recalled that he contested the party’s governorship ticket for 2027 but lost to Sabo Nakudu.
According to him, party stakeholders failed to reconcile Jumbo and his supporters with the candidate who emerged after the primary.
“Adamu Jumbo is a founding father. He brought ADC to Jigawa. He contested and lost to Sabo Nakudu, but up till now nobody has reconciled him. His supporters are angry,” he said.
Laraba noted that although Jumbo had avoided taking any action against the party, his silence did not mean all was well.
He said, “Jumbo has not fought the party; he did not go to court, he did not leave. But his people are not happy, and we have abandoned him.”
The chieftain added that, beyond the deputy governorship dispute and the Jumbo issue, several other factors were contributing to the party’s declining fortunes.
He warned that if the crisis persisted, the PDP would exploit the ADC’s internal divisions ahead of the 2027 elections.
Laraba therefore called on the ADC’s national and state leadership to intervene urgently and resolve the internal disputes to save the party.
He said, “If we don’t fix our house now, this PDP candidate will be a big threat to us. We must unite or we will lose before the election.”