Adamawa PDP aspirants at a glance

The impeachment of Murtala Nyako as governor of Adamawa State has no doubt opened another chapter of scramble and agitation for power among political elites in the state.
The PDP which took over the mantle of leadership immediately after Nyako of the All Progressives Congress (APC) was impeached, had a total of 14 aspirants but two are said to have stepped down.
The aspirnats are; Acting Governor Alhaji Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri; former chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mallam Nuhu Ribadu; Senator Abubakar Girei; former political adviser to President Goodluck Jonathan, Alhaji Ahmed Gulak; former military administrator of Lagos and Borno States, Brig. Gen. Buba Marwa and former minister of state for foreign affairs, Dr. Aliyu Idi Hong.
Others are Dr. Umar Ardo; former Executive Secretary of the Universal Basic Education Commission, (UBEC), Dr. Ahmed Modibbo; son of former PDP national chairman, Awwal Tukur; Engr. Marcus Gundiri; James Barka; Hon. Jerry Kumdisi; Brig. Gen. Aliyu Kama and Prof. Andrawus Sawa.
Alhaji Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri
Fintiri is presently the acting governor of Adamawa State. He was the Speaker of the state House of Assembly and presided at the sitting where Nyako was impeached. Fintiri has the power of incumbency working for him which implies he has a lot of resources at his disposal.
As acting governor he has the support of the local government chairmen and councilors in the state. He is said to have wooed into his fold a reasonable percentage of delegates that are deciding tomorrow who emerges the party’s candidate for the by-election.
Many people are expressing fear that with the power of incumbency, Fintiri may have an advantage over other aspirants but some say this may count against him as the leadership of the PDP is not with him due to how he joined the race.
Mallam Nuhu Ribadu
Ribadu is the first chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). He was presidential candidate of the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) in the 2011 general elections.
Ribadu became popular through his fight against graft but many say he is not a grassroots politician and that his defection to the PDP from the APC to contest the election portrays him as desperate for power.
Some PDP governors and stakeholders are against the idea of allowing the former boss of the anti-graft agency run on the party’s platform but Ribadu is said to be favoured by some powerful forces in the presidency as well as by the national chairman of the PDP, Alhaji Adamu Mu’azu.  
A close friend of Hassan Tukur, the principal private secretary to the President, Ribadu is said to have been assured of the support of the presidency before he moved to the PDP.
Ahmed Modibbo
Modibbo is former executive secretary of the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) and a billionaire who has a track record of experience and political sagacity to govern the state. His wife is currently a member of the House of Representatives   and is said to have grassroots connections with the people. While some analysts say his wife would explore her grassroots connections and sell him to the delegates, others say he has not spent much time in the party and that certain factors may work against him.
Alhaji Awwal Tukur
Awwal is son of the former PDP national chairman, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur. He is seriously engaged in agriculture and has been a chieftain of the PDP for a very long time. He is of the belief that people like him who have been in the party for years should be given the ticket rather than giving it to new entrants. His chances are helped by the fact that his father is a former chairman of the party. He contested the governorship seat in 2007 but was not successful but has left his structure intact which he might deploy to his advantage in the current race.
Alhaji Ahmed Gulak
Gulak is former political adviser to President Goodluck Jonathan. His entry into the state’s governorship race took many by surprise as he has just left the presidency in controversial circumstances. In terms of structures and grassroots outreach, Gulak is said to be unmatchable. But his success will depend on how far he has gone to reconcile with the presidency to help push his case.
Gen Buba Marwa
Marwa is a retired Brigadier general and former military administrator of Lagos and Borno States. His performance in office as military administrator is said to be lofty and therefore many believe that if given the party’s ticket to run, he would win the governorship election and ensure good governance. However, Marwa defected to the PDP from the APC not long ago and was granted waiver on August 29, 2014 to run for the party’s primary.  Some say Marwa would have made it in the election if Ribadu had not been brought into the race while others argue that if not because Ribadu, the acclaimed anointed candidate, was granted waiver, Marwa wouldn’t have been granted the waiver.
Engr. Markus Gundiri
Engineer Markus Gundiri was the governorship candidate of the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) in the 2012 governorship election in Adamawa State. Gundiri is said to have structures in the state having contested the seat before and that he is one of the prominent politicians that are grassroots oriented. He was faced with the challenge of not qualifying to seek the PDP ticket without a waiver considering that he defected to the PDP from the APC and has not stayed up to two years as stipulated by the party’s constitution for him to be eligible to contest. Gundiri is said to be relying on the reach he has made in 2011 to do the magic for him.
Dr.  Aliyu Idi Hong
Hong was minister of state foreign affairs and minister of state health at different occasions. He is a well-educated personality that has support in Adamawa and wants to win election and “eliminate poverty, ignorant and underdevelopment” in the state if elected. He considers Adamawa as being “at a crossroad occasioned by bad governance. He is being backed by Professor Jubril Aminu who also has connection at the presidency and at the PDP national secretariat.
One of his major arguments is that the ticket should be given to the Central zone where he hails from and if that is done, he stands a good chance of clinching the ticket.
Senator Abubakar Halilu Girei
Girei was the senator representing Adamawa Central from May 1999 to May 2003. He is a Chartered Quantity Surveyor, Real Estate Developer and a Construction Management Consultant. The ex-lawmaker is against imposition of candidates by the party considering the intrigues characterizing the choice of the party’s candidate for the election. He also stands a good chance if the ticket is zoned to the Central zone as the acting governor who would be out of the race by that arrangement, is more likely to support him above other candidates from the zone.
Dr. Umar Ardo
Ardo aspired for the PDP ticket in the 2011 governorship election in Adamawa State.
Dr. Ardo led six other contestants and petitioned the party not to give waivers to Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, Engr. Marcus Gundiri and Gen Buba Marwa. The petition was also against Jerry Kundisi, Aliyu Kama and alleged that former executive secretary of UBEC, Dr. Ahmed Modibbo was not eligible for PDP ticket.
He has been in forefront of the fight to oust Nyako and many thoug th he would be compensated once the governor is out. As this failed however, he has remained resolute and has resolved to stay in the race and make sure the right thing is done.
Hon. Jerry Kumdisi
Hon. Jerry Kundusi is currently representing Gombi Constituency in the Adamawa State House of Assembly. He was the one who moved a motion that since the House had the required 2/3rd majority, it should commence debate on the panel’s report which impeached former governor Murtala Nyako. The lawmaker told journalists after his screening at the PDP national secretariat in Abuja that he had contributed tremendously to the growth of the party in the state and was one of the major players in ensuring the return of power to the PDP in the state.
Kumdisi is said to have been wooing delegates to favour him in the tomorrow’s primary as he said “if I get about 1,000 delegates out of the 2,000 delegates to vote for me then I will emerge the governor of Adamawa State.”   
Aliyu Kama
Kama is a retired Brigadier General. He was the military governor of Plateau State from July, 1988 to August 1990 during the military regime of General Ibrahim Babangida. He was an aspirant of the PDP in the 2007 governorship election. In 2009, he was one of the promoters of a new Amana State to be carved out of Adamawa State.
He expressed confidence that if the party does not impose any candidate on the people of Adamawa State, he would be the person to beat in the primary tomorrow.