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From Billy Graham Abel, Yola
The crisis rocking the African Democratic Congress (ADC) in Adamawa State has taken a dramatic turn following a statement by the party’s presidential candidate, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, in which he appeared to recognise a different person as the party’s governorship candidate in the state.
Atiku, in a post on his verified Facebook account, said he had met with ADC candidates from Adamawa State across various elective positions, including what he described as the party’s governorship candidate, “Hamman Tukur Ribadu”.
The reference has generated fresh controversy within the Adamawa ADC, where Ambassador Engineer Omar Suleiman, popularly known as Omarana and the Dokajin Adamawa, has been publicly identified as the party’s governorship candidate. Recent media reports have also continued to identify Suleiman as the ADC governorship candidate for the 2027 election.
In the Facebook post, Atiku said: “Earlier today, I met with my fellow 2027 Adamawa State African Democratic Congress candidates across all elective positions, including our governorship candidate, Hamman Tukur Ribadu.”
He added that he urged party leaders, led by the Deputy National Chairman, North East, Daniel Bwala, and the Adamawa State Chairman, Rt. Hon. Sadiq Ibrahim Dasin, to reconcile party members and commence mass mobilisation and voter sensitisation ahead of the 2027 general elections.
“I am pleased to see the party uniting to form a common front. I have encouraged them to maintain these efforts,” Atiku stated.
The development has fuelled allegations by supporters of Omar Suleiman that there is an attempt to alter the outcome of the ADC governorship primary in Adamawa and impose another candidate.
The controversy is particularly significant because Atiku’s camp had earlier dismissed allegations that the former Vice President was behind moves to replace Suleiman.
On July 22, 2026, Atiku’s Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, described allegations that Atiku was involved in any attempt to replace a duly nominated ADC candidate as “entirely false, malicious and the product of mischief-makers.”
Shaibu said Atiku had “neither initiated nor sanctioned any move to replace any duly nominated candidate of the ADC anywhere in Nigeria,” insisting that the former Vice President respected the party’s internal democratic processes.
According to him, Atiku remained committed to the decisions of the constitutionally recognised organs of the ADC and was focused on uniting the party ahead of the 2027 general elections.
“We therefore urge our members, supporters and the general public to disregard this baseless propaganda, which is clearly intended to foment unnecessary tension and distract the party from its collective mission,” Shaibu said.
However, Atiku’s latest public reference to “Hamman Tukur Ribadu” as the Adamawa governorship candidate has given fresh ammunition to those who had alleged that moves were underway to replace Omar Suleiman and that Atiku was indeed the mastermind behind them.
The development has therefore raised questions within the Adamawa ADC over whether the reference was a mere error in identification or an indication of a developing political betrayal of the mandate of the people by its presidential candidate.
The controversy comes against the backdrop of earlier tensions within the ADC over its internal processes. In June, Atiku’s camp defended the ADC primary process after former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Babachir Lawal, criticised the conduct of the party’s primaries. Atiku’s spokesman at the time pointed to the emergence of Omar Suleiman as evidence of their credibility and as a sign of the genuineness of the outcomes of the process.
The latest development could consequently deepen the already existing divisions within the Adamawa chapter of the opposition party, particularly among supporters who insist that Suleiman emerged through the party’s recognised electoral process and should be allowed to contest the 2027 governorship election.
For supporters of Omar Suleiman, Atiku’s latest statement is being interpreted as a major contradiction of the July 22 denial by his spokesman and as evidence that the controversy over the Adamawa governorship ticket may be far from over.
The unfolding crisis now places the ADC leadership before a crucial political test: whether it can resolve the dispute over the Adamawa governorship ticket without further damaging the party’s credibility and electoral prospects in the state.
As the controversy continues to generate reactions across Adamawa, the central question remains whether “Hamman Tukur Ribadu” was simply a mistaken reference by Atiku or whether the statement signals a substantive electoral anomaly being contemplated in the ADC’s Adamawa governorship ticket.
For now, Omar Suleiman remains publicly identified in recent reports as the ADC governorship candidate in Adamawa, while Atiku’s latest statement has opened a new chapter in the increasingly contentious dispute over the party’s 2027 ticket.
