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Mr Adamu was accused of “doctoring” the list of delegates for the APC primary election in two of the five local government areas of the senatorial district.

The conduct of a primary election on June 4 for the Nasarawa West Senatorial seat has compounded a crisis in the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the North-central state.

The shadow election produced an architect, Shehu Tukur, as the party’s candidate but opponents accused the National Chairman of the party, Abdullahi Adamu, of manipulating the process.

Observers say the crisis over the primary may cost the ruling party the senatorial seat in 2023 and even lead to the collapse of the party in Nasarawa.

Mr Adamu was accused of “doctoring” the list of delegates for the primary election in two of the five local government areas of the district, in a bid to secure the party’s ticket for his anointed candidate, Mr Tukur.

The affected local government areas are Keffi and Nasarawa. There was no quarrel over the lists for Toto, Karu and Kokona LGAs.

Governor Abdullahi Sule and the party’s state chairman in Nasarawa, John Maaman, were among the stakeholders who have expressed disappointment in the national leadership of the party over the alleged manipulation.

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Mr Adamu was also accused of imposing Auta Koro and Abdulmumin Ari as the party’s candidates for the two House of Representatives seats in the zone.

The genesis of a crisis

Until his emergence as the national chairman of the ruling party in March, Mr Adamu held the senatorial seat for Nasarawa West.

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His decision to go against the consensus of party stakeholders in the state in the national chairmanship race had ignited a feud in the party.

This is because the stakeholders had on January 25 adopted a former governor of the state and senator representing Nasarawa South Senatorial district, Umaru Al-Makura, who declared his interest in the position earlier, as the state’s candidate for the top party seat.

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Even after Mr Adamu joined the race later, Governor Sule maintained in the build-up to the APC national convention that Mr Al-Makura remained the candidate of the state.

But Mr Adamu, also a former governor of the state, was absent at the ceremony for the endorsement of Mr Al-Makura. At the time, he was the chairman of a committee the APC tasked to resolve crises in the various state chapters of the party after the state congresses that produced party officials across the country.

Mr Adamu was said to have used that position to canvass support for his national chairmanship aspiration, against the position already taken by his state chapter of the party.

His eventual emergence divided the party in Nasarawa into two factions, one loyal to him and the other to Mr Al-makura.

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Controversial battle for Nasarawa west senatorial ticket

Shortly after Mr Adamu assumed his new office, the struggle to replace him in the Senate for the Nasarawa West seat began with Aliyu Wadada, a two-term member of the House of Representatives, Labaran Magaji, and Mr Tukur as the leading aspirants.

After alleging that the delegates’ list had been doctored, Mr Wadada pulled out of the race and defected to the Social Democratic Party (SDP). This left Messrs Magaji and Tukur to contest the primary election, which was held at the Nasarawa State University in Keffi on June 4.

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Eventually, Mr Tukur polled 179 votes to defeat Mr Magaji who polled 114 votes. However, Mr Magaji alleged fraud in the process and headed to the Federal High Court to “reclaim his mandate” after the party’s appeal committee dismissed his petition.

‘Doctored’ delegates’ list

Mr Magaji claimed that the delegates’ list used for the primaries of the two federal and 10 state constituencies in Nasarawa West senatorial district was doctored.

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Many top APC members in the state, including the state party chairman, Mr Maaman, appeared to agree with Mr Magaji in his claim.

“The party in Nasarawa State is saddened by the discovery that officials from the national secretariat of the party thwarted the authentic list of delegates sent to the national secretariat,” Mr Maaman told PREMIUM TIMES.

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“We find this inexplicable. In the light of the above unfortunate development, the Nasarawa APC wishes to state that we will not tolerate this unwarranted doctoring of the official delegates’ list sent to the national secretariat.

“We consider this as undemocratic, and that it is capable of breeding disaffection, tension and disunity in the party. Therefore, the party will not accept any list outside of congresses conducted in the state,” he said.

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Messrs Adamu, Tukur and Magaji did not respond to calls and SMS sent to their lines for this report.

However, Mr Magaji had publicly alleged fraud and threatened to go to court.

Divided house

The Nasarawa West senatorial district, which comprises Keffi, Nasarawa, Toto, Karu, and Kokona LGAs, is home to prominent politicians in the state and has always been the centre of intense political struggles.

By virtue of its position as the ruling party, the APC was expected to have the upper hand in the 2023 senatorial election in the district but for the crisis currently rocking the party. This may well become the party’s Achilles’ heel.

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Rotation agreement

Abubakar Sodangi, who hails from Nasarawa Local Government Area, represented the senatorial district for over 12 years before Mr Adamu from Keffi took the seat until he vacated it after his emergence as the APC national chairman this year.

According to locals, Mr Magaji was the next in line for the seat, based on a rotation agreement among the four constituent LGAs. Mr Magaji is from Toto LGA that has never held a seat.

Meanwhile, Mr Wadada, a 2019 governorship aspirant of the APC who defected to the SDP following the delegate controversy, is not a pushover in the senatorial zone. Many of his loyalists have joined him in his new party.

Earlier this month, Mr Wadada held a rally at the Keffi Flyover Bridge in Keffi Local Government Area.

The rally caused gridlock for several hours on the Keffi/Akwanga Federal highway and on major roads in Keffi where Mr Wadada and his teeming supporters passed through.

Jonathan Gaza, a two-term member of the House of Representatives representing Karu/Keffi/Kokona federal constituency, has also defected to SDP with his supporters.

This means that votes that would have gone to the APC will be divided as the party also faces litigation from Mr Magaji.

What is certain is that APC will face a stiff contest in the senatorial district next year. Many observers believe that if the party does not put its house in order before the poll, the backlash may also affect the reelection of Governor Sule.

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