By Dr. Ibrahim Shehu, Dutse
The recent polemical intervention by Lawan A. Kazaure on the outcome of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) gubernatorial primary election in Jigawa State represents a misplaced attempt to elevate political disappointment above democratic reality and empirical facts. While dissent remains an indispensable feature of democracy, credible political discourse must be anchored on evidence, institutional integrity, and respect for the expressed will of party delegates.
Regrettably, the article relies heavily on conjecture, emotional rhetoric, and unsubstantiated allegations while offering little evidence capable of undermining the legitimacy of the primary election that produced Senator Sabo Muhammad Nakudu as the duly elected gubernatorial candidate of the ADC.
The facts remain straightforward and incontrovertible. Acting within the framework of the party’s constitution and electoral guidelines, ADC delegates freely exercised their democratic franchise and overwhelmingly elected Senator Nakudu, who secured 35,939 votes against Hon. Bashir Adamu’s 19,537 votes—a decisive margin of over 16,000 votes.
Such an emphatic mandate cannot reasonably be dismissed as an accident or the product of manipulation. Rather, it reflects a broad-based endorsement of Senator Nakudu’s political experience, leadership credentials, grassroots acceptability, and electoral viability across the twenty-seven local government areas of Jigawa State.
More revealing, however, is the contradiction embedded in the post-election narrative advanced by supporters of the defeated aspirant. On one hand, they claim extensive control over party structures, committees, and officials at virtually every level. On the other hand, they seek to portray themselves as victims of a process they allegedly dominated.
The question therefore becomes unavoidable: if the electoral architecture was under their influence, how did they become victims of the very process they claim to have controlled?
One cannot claim ownership of the structures, influence over the officials, and dominance of the process, yet simultaneously allege victimhood after suffering electoral defeat. Such a position is politically untenable and fundamentally weakens the credibility of the allegations being advanced.
The logical conclusion is that delegates exercised independent judgment and ultimately chose the candidate they believed possessed the capacity, experience, and political capital required to lead the party into the 2027 governorship election.
This outcome reaffirms a fundamental democratic principle: political structures do not vote—people do.
Equally important is the deliberate attempt to ignore Senator Nakudu’s established political pedigree. A former member of the House of Representatives and Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Senator Nakudu entered the ADC with decades of political experience, an expansive grassroots network, and a formidable support base spread across all twenty-seven local government areas of Jigawa State.
His emergence was not accidental. It was the product of strategic engagement, coalition-building, stakeholder consultations, effective mobilization, and sustained political investment.
Attempts to portray his victory as anything other than the outcome of a competitive democratic process amount to a disservice to the principles of internal democracy and the intelligence of party members.
The larger challenge confronting the ADC today is not the conduct of the primary election but the unwillingness of certain actors to subordinate personal disappointment to collective party interests.
Democracy imposes responsibilities on both winners and losers. While victors must pursue reconciliation and inclusiveness, those dissatisfied with electoral outcomes must demonstrate political maturity by respecting democratic verdicts and utilizing established constitutional mechanisms for redress.
Resorting to media offensives, inflammatory rhetoric, and persistent attempts to delegitimize a transparent process serves only to weaken party cohesion, deepen internal divisions, and provide strategic advantage to political opponents.
As the ADC prepares for the decisive political contest ahead, the priority must be unity, reconciliation, and organizational consolidation. The future of the party is too important to be sacrificed on the altar of personal ambition, political entitlement, or post-election bitterness.
The delegates have spoken. The democratic process has run its course. The mandate has been conferred.
What remains is for all stakeholders to unite behind the collective aspiration of providing Jigawa State with credible, purposeful, and transformative leadership in 2027.
Ultimately, Senator Sabo Muhammad Nakudu’s emergence represents more than an individual victory. It is a triumph of democratic choice over political entitlement, popular legitimacy over perceived ownership, and the sovereign will of delegates over personal expectations.
In every democracy, the people’s mandate remains the highest political authority.
Dr. Ibrahim Shehu
Dutse, Jigawa State
