The governorship candidate of the All Progressive Congress (APC) in Adamawa State, Aishatu Dahiru, popularly known as Binani, is in a close race with the current governor and candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Ahmadu Fintiri, in the ongoing Adamawa State gubernatorial election.
Should Binani be declared the winner, she would become Nigeria’s first woman to be elected governor of a state.
To achieve that feat, however, she has to defeat Mr Fintiri, whom she currently trails, although narrowly, based on official results declared by the electoral commission, INEC, in the capital, Yola.
After the announcement of results from 10 of Adamawa’s 21 local government areas, Mr Fintiri has so far polled 186,536 votes while Binani has 179,264 votes, a difference of about 7,000 votes.
Binani is not just facing an incumbent, she is also running against religious and cultural biases that have long stood against women in contests for power in Nigeria
Binani, a serving senator, is popular in the state mainly for her philanthropy, although she faces a strong challenger in the incumbent who is credited with major infrastructure work in the state, particularly in the state capital, Yola.
Of the 24 female governorship candidates across the country, Binani is considered the only candidate with a real chance of winning her governorship seat. (Premium Times)
