The declaration of Ahmed Tijjani Galadima as the governorship flagbearer of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Adamawa State has been described as a scam and a disgrace to Nigerian democracy.
A frontline aspirant and contender, Dr Salihu Bakari, made this declaration in a press conference in Yola shortly after Alhaji Ahmed Tijjani Galadima was declared the governorship candidate of the party.
Dr Salihu Bakari decried the omission of his name from the list of cleared aspirants during the All-Governorship primary election, saying “the election by all standards is a scam without transparency and fairness and called for a fresh conduct of primaries in the state.
According to him, “I duly purchased the party’s governorship nomination form with the intention of contesting in the 2026 governorship primaries under the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC)”.
And “in line with the party’s guidelines and procedures, I honoured the invitation of the screening committee and successfully participated in the screening exercise”.
However, “to my utmost surprise, I discovered that the list released by the committee responsible for conducting the primary election omitted my name entirely without any explanation or stated reason”, he queried.
Dr Salihu Bakari explained that for clarity, “at no point after my screening was I notified of any disqualification, adverse finding, or decision affecting my eligibility. I was also never invited or requested to appear before the post-screening Appeal Committee”.
Therefore, throughout the process, there was nothing whatsoever to indicate that I had been disqualified or was otherwise excluded from participation in the primary election.
What makes this omission more concerning is that candidates who did not meet the screening requirements were clearly identified on the released list as “Not Cleared.” In my own case, my name does not appear at all despite having undergone and successfully completed the screening process.
According to him, the failure to either clear or disqualify him officially has created suspicion and heightened concerns about due process.
“My omission raises serious concerns about fairness, transparency and equal opportunity in the conduct of the party’s internal democratic process and has effectively denied me the opportunity to participate in the exercise”, he asserted.
This is clearly a flagrant disregard and breach of the Nigerian constitution, the electoral law, as well as party and INEC guidelines.
In view of the foregoing, “I humbly appeal to the National Chairman, through the Adamawa State APC Appeal Committee, to kindly intervene by reviewing the circumstances surrounding my omission, restoring my name on a revised list of cleared aspirants, and ordering the conduct of a fresh primary election to enable me to participate fully and fairly in the process”.
Dr Bakari, however, reiterated his unwavering commitment to the ideals, unity and progress of our great party and trust in the leadership of the party to ensure justice and adherence to due process.
