For two years, Senator Aishatu Dahiru Ahmed, popularly known as Binani, has been the most-watched opposition figure in Adamawa State. In 2022, she became the first woman to win a major-party governorship ticket in the state after beating Nuhu Ribadu, Umaru Jibrilla Bindow, Abdulrazak Namdas, Safari Theman and Umar Mustapha to fly the flag of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the 2023 election. Indeed, she came within 31,000 votes of unseating Governor Ahmadu Fintiri in 2023.
Binani, a former Senator representing Adamawa Central, however, quietly dumped the APC for the African Democratic Congress (ADC) in July 2025. Many believed the move was necessary because Ribadu, now the National Security Adviser (NSA), has taken over the APC structure in Adamawa State. The defection, confirmed by her media aide Maulud Usman, came days after former Vice President Atiku Abubakar also joined the ADC.
Sources said both were planning a joint Yola unveiling to signal a new opposition alliance in Adamawa. For a moment, the ADC looked like the vehicle to challenge both APC and PDP in 2027. Then the ADC cracked.
The congress that split the party
In March 2026, a national ADC congress committee led by Gen. Ishaya Bauka (retd) conducted ward-to-state congresses in Adamawa. It produced Barrister Sadiq Ibrahim Dasin and 53 other officials as the new state exco — despite a High Court order suspending the exercise.
Binani’s bloc boycotted the congress. “As a law-abiding entity we opted not to participate,” she told supporters at a solidarity rally in Yola. She accused Bauka’s committee of skipping due process and “being economical with the truth”.
Her allies went further. ADC stalwart Peter Hardly Dilli accused a former Secretary to the Government of the Federation of orchestrating the crisis. Dilli said a coalition had earlier agreed to share the party into three blocs — Binani’s, Dasin’s “Transition bloc,” and the “legacy bloc” of embattled chairman Shehu Yohanna — to accommodate all interests. The congresses blew that deal apart.
Mass Resignation and the “Next Platform”
Meanwhile, the Binani faction announced a mass resignation from the ADC. A communiqué from a stakeholders’ meeting at Hon. Mijiyewa Umaru Kugama’s residence cited “total collapse of internal democracy” and “destruction of party structures”. They declared all congress outcomes “null and void”.
However, the communiqué didn’t name a new party. It only mandated Binani “to lead the transition and orchestrate a comprehensive strategy ahead of the ensuing electoral cycle”. Plans include “a coordinated defection framework spanning polling units, wards, and local government areas” under a new platform.
Political analysts say the exit could “notably alter the political scene in Adamawa,” with Binani still central to the 2027 governorship race.
Why Binani left APC — and why ADC unraveled
Her APC exit had been brewing. Reports pointed to tensions with the party’s Adamawa leadership, which was seen as tilting toward National Security Adviser Nuhu Ribadu. For Binani, ADC offered a fresh start and a potential alliance with Atiku. But ADC’s national leadership problems — court cases, parallel structures, and claims of imposition — mirrored the same “injustice, impunity, and illegality” her bloc said it rejected. The result: a second defection looms, less than a year after the first.
Decision time for Binani
Binani’s camp says the decision “signifies the onset of a new political trajectory grounded in credibility, inclusiveness, and authentic democratic ideals”. Nigerian Democratic Congress (NDC), Peoples Redemption Party (PRP), and even a return to PDP have all been whispered in Yola, but no move is official.
If Binani leaves ADC while Atiku stays, the Adamawa opposition splits. If both leave, ADC’s Adamawa structure collapses.
She retains a loyal base, especially among women and in Adamawa Central. Any party she joins becomes instant contender. If Binani does surface in NDC or any other party, it will be her third platform in under three years, which is not unusual in Adamawa politics. For now, her camp’s message is simple: “Be patient… necessary action would be taken in the interest of her political movement soonest”.
