By Mu’azu Hassan
@ www.katsinatimes.com
As of Sunday night, May 24, 2026, the African Democratic Congress (ADC) in Katsina State had not reached an agreement on who would emerge as the party’s governorship candidate.
Multiple sources within the party confirmed to Katsina Times that the five aspirants failed to reach a consensus after prolonged discussions that lasted until late Sunday night.
Following the deadlock, the aspirants agreed to suspend further negotiations until after the Sallah celebrations, considering that the presidential primary election is scheduled for Monday, Tuesday is the Day of Arafat, while Wednesday is Eid-el-Kabir.
The governorship aspirants are Saddiq Yar'Adua, Mustapha Inuwa, Ahmed Babba Kaita, Ahmed Aminu Yar'Adua, and Lawal Daura.
Sources revealed that a six-member committee proposed that the governorship ticket be zoned to Daura Senatorial Zone, a move that allowed two aspirants — Ahmed Babba Kaita and Lawal Daura — to negotiate among themselves in an attempt to reach a compromise. However, the two reportedly failed to agree.
Reports further indicated that the other three aspirants rejected the arrangement, describing it as undemocratic and inconsistent with the constitution of the ADC.
The committee later introduced another method of assessment by ranking the aspirants according to perceived merit and political strength, eventually concluding that Lawal Daura was the most qualified to fly the party’s flag.
However, the remaining aspirants rejected the recommendation, arguing that it violated the guidelines of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). The proposal was subsequently discarded.
The ADC leadership then allowed the aspirants to continue consultations among themselves in search of a consensus candidate, but no agreement was reached as of midnight on Sunday.
Findings by Katsina Times showed that among veteran politicians and ordinary residents, Saddiq Yar'Adua appears to enjoy the widest support, with Mustapha Inuwa closely behind.
Similarly, among retired civil servants and former security personnel, many are said to favour Lawal Daura.
The investigation also revealed that some controversial remarks previously made by Ahmed Babba Kaita are still affecting his acceptance among certain political stakeholders, although he continues to enjoy significant support among some social media users.
As for Ahmed Aminu Yar'Adua, political observers believe his political activities are rarely visible except during election periods.
Meanwhile, the ADC in Katsina currently has two factions. The faction led by Musa Wamba has already produced its own governorship candidate, Salisu Uli, a former secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and former acting chairman of the party.
Uli told Katsina Times that he had purchased the nomination form and would contest the governorship election under the ADC platform unopposed.
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